(The cartoon image above is by Julio Carrion Cueva [Karry] at karrycartoons.blogspot.com.)The Republican economic policies cost this country millions of jobs when they resulted in a huge recession during the administration of George W. Bush. In addition, they have encouraged the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries by giving tax breaks to corporations that do the outsourcing. They have also blocked all efforts of the president and the Democrats to pass a real jobs program -- and they currently block efforts to raise the minimum wage.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that those things have combined to increase the number of people who need assistance to buy food for themselves and their families. In fact, the number of people receiving assistance from the SNAP program (formerly called the Food Stamp program) has reached record levels -- and that has naturally resulted in higher spending needed to fund the program.
There are reasonable things that could be done to take care of this increased spending. Taxes could be raised slightly for the richest Americans (who are making record-breaking incomes). Tax loopholes could be closed for corporations making billions in profits (many of whom pay no taxes, or very little in taxes). A bill could be passed to rebuild our infrastructure, thus creating jobs -- or another type of job creation bill could be passed. The tax break for outsourcing jobs could be eliminated. Or the minimum wage could be raised to a livable wage.
All of those things would reduce the need for food stamps and result in less money needed to support that program. But the congressional Republicans are opposed to all of them. They have decided on a new path -- and yesterday the Republican-dominated House voted to just cut nearly $40 billion from the SNAP program over a ten year period (about $4 billion each year). And just to show how disingenuous they are, the Republicans are trying to call this cut a "jobs" bill.
But there is not a penny in the bill to create a single job. The only thing the bill would do is throw millions of hungry people out of the SNAP program. It represents a new height in meanness for the GOP -- the party of the rich. It will make the poor and working class people pay for the economic mistakes of the Republicans, while the rich continue to skate by paying less of a tax rate then many in the middle class. The bill is an abomination, and shows just how uncaring and hard-hearted the Republican Party has become.
I want to say they should be ashamed, but I no longer believe they have the capacity to feel shame.
