The Wall Street Journal published some letters on last week’s food stamp piece. According to Joel Berg of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger:
Food-stamp fraud has never cost the American taxpayers anything close to what defense-contractor or corporate-welfare fraud costs, and the number of people illegally using food-stamp benefits has always been dwarfed by the number of Americans… eligible for assistance who fail to apply because they don’t want to be falsely labeled criminal by Mr. Bovard and his ilk.
I always wonder: If I’m associated with an “ilk,” is that an upgrade for me or a downgrade for the “ilk”?
Radamisto blog had a concise refutation of the article: “MEAN PEOPLE SUCK. I’m coming to think of that as the only slogan I need to argue against conservative policies. This is the latest outrage.”
Commentors at the Daily Kos offered many insightful responses to the article:
* Bovard is a well known lying sack of shit. He has been a hypocrite libertarian for years, very much in the Ron Paul mold. Read his book “Lost Rights” for all the examples you need. He blabs on and on about freedom to do this, freedom to do that, but does not think labor unions constitute freedom of association.
* Tell him to clean up his OWN damn neighborhood – Wall St.!
* Assholes like this just ought to shut the hell up.
*Another shiny object to distract our attention from real problems. Another dog-whistle to bring obedient conserva- puppies to heel. Another step in the long-planned march toward fascism. Another link in the chain that will enslave us all.
*if this columnist doesn’t like fraud and abuse in government programs, just wait till he finds out about the military and security apparatuses (apparati?). He’ll have a non-stop career of outraged column after outraged column to write!
* We don’t ban highway traffic because people have been killed in car accidents…. But, this is the logic that assholes like Bovard are using.
* There are numerous areas that have fraud and abuse, but I love how the Repubs focus on the poor. Heartless, every one…
*Yeah, be nice if Blowhard took the same approach to the military.
* Heartlessness doesn’t only reside in the breasts of “Libertarians” or the wealthy, it also lives in the breasts of scheming demagogues everywhere.
*Bovard’s one of those crazier Libertarians who think it’s an affront to our liberty to keep people from starving.
Daily Kos columnist “Something the Dog Said” declared: “When the nation has a crisis caused by folks like Bovard and it puts millions out of work and the government steps in to bail those assholes out, it is also incumbent on the government to do something for those who are suffering at no fault of their own.”
This columnist seemed most offended by my opposition to having everyone depend on the government for their next meal: “The problem with this idea is that self-reliance is a myth. No one at the top of our earnings food chain got there all on their own. They went to great schools, from grade school on. These people benefitted from their parents money and connections… No human can ever be completely self reliant… We are all cogs in the machinery of our society… The myth of self-reliance that the Randites and Conservatives espouse is just a way to keep people divided.”
And the best way to unify people is to compel them to rely on their political masters?
The article generated more than 600 comments on the Wall Street Journal website. I have not read all of them – but here’s one guy’s contribution that reflected the sentiment of many folks:
Oh, boo hoo hoo, there’s fraud in the food stamp program. No mention of the billiions of dollars in fraud perpetrated by the contractors in our 3 wars…. The hypocrisy displayed here is stunning.
Apparently, any article that discusses a specific example of government waste or fraud is morally invalid unless it also lists every other type of waste and fraud.
You have an ilk? Is it registered, or one of those mongrel ilks? Ewwww, it’s not one of those long-haired ilks, is it? But PetCo is having a special on IlkChow this week, you know, so you’re in luck.
Ya gotta admit, though, that in purely cash terms defense contractor and financial industry fraud has cost the taxpayer a lot more than food stamps. Of course, that doesn’t take into account the social costs (odd, isn’t it, how those are only counted when the Left wants more economic costs) created by dependency.
Of course. I’ve hammered the financial bailouts and Pentagon abuses for years. But some folks seem to think that because the govt. wastes $ in one area, it is obliged to also waste it in other areas.
Or, alternatively, that it excuses waste when the waste is for their personal favorites, yup! Admittedly if they’re going to waste money I’d rather see it being wasted on food instead of bombs (unless they’re going to surplus the ammo and sell it to me for cheap) but “no waste” is still the best deal.
It is not solely a question of wasted $s. When politicians and bureaucrats launch policies that entitle millionaires to collect free food, something is profoundly wrong.
How *dare* you suggest that millionaires have fewer rights to enjoy government waste than people on welfare do? Those filet mignons aren’t going to buy themselves, you know! 😀
People bashing one’s work on WSJ or Kos is generally an indication that you’ve done something right.
“And the best way to unify people is to compel them to rely on their political masters?”
This I think says it all. The food stamp program is a good idea in concept and actually does help people, but the reason we need it is because the economy is captured by extremely powerful and wealthy capital interests. Many people are prevented from ever even having a legitimate opportunity to live freely.
We’re all just “consumers” now, remember? Just do your patriotic duty and buy a damned Twinkie.
Would I still be a patriot if I bought a beer instead?
Wouldn’t it be strange if the same people who think you are a right-wing bastard are the same people who think you are a left-wing bastard when you write unflattering pieces about things the right-wingers hold dear?
Things just get confusing when someone is both a mean spirited left-wing conservative and a bleeding heart right-wing liberal.
Oh, and there is a new rule for political journalists. When one criticizes a president, program or policy, one must also criticize all presidents, programs or policies. This is to give balance and to be fair to both sides. Because, after all, only two sides exist, officially.
I also have an idea that might eliminate some of the abuses of food stamps. This would be to expand the program to include other agricultural products – alcohol stamps, tobacco stamps, and reefer stamps.
We are all cogs in the machinery of our society
Heh, but don’t call them socialists!
Although my first thought is that those asswipes were simply too inattentive to notice that we were critisizing Bush’s wars from the get-go, I begin to wonder if they are not now saying these things to cover their embarrassment since we are the only ones still sincerely opposed to the wars. When they bring the wars up I like to ask them what pressure they’ve put on their Dear Leader to end them. ***crickets chirping***
Tom, as far as expanding the program to Reefer Stamps — Would there be a requirement that the Reefer would have to be grown & supplied by USDA? I would be very leary of govt.-issued weed.
Alpowolf, I expect those crickets are going to chirp for a long time.
It is peculiar that some of the Daily Kos types presume that they had a monopoly of virtue on opposing Bush’s wars…
Jim, I think you’re right about the USDA weed – no good. I want the same stuff the cops are smoking. I think they get theirs from the evidence room.
I sure don’t want whatever the Daily Kos people are smoking because it makes you mean and we all know that mean people suck. They must score their stuff from the same place the Freepers get theirs.
That’s a hoot!
I have always been careful to choose pilsner that does not make me mean-spirited. A man has got to safeguard his cheery temperament.
My favorite one is where people like you caused the financial crisis and were bailed out. How much did you get in bailout loot?
I think the extent of my takings from the crisis amounted to a couple mass-mailed newsletters I received from my congressman bragging about all the things he was doing to end the financial crisis.
People with beards caused the financial crisis? Wow. 😀
Perhaps it is more generic – people who distrusted the government caused the crisis….
Give them hell! Maybe the lefty dimbulbs can tell us why Obama, Pelosi, Rangel, Kerry, Daschle, and others are multimillionaires from doing essentially nothing. There was also a study out recently that showed the Democratic members of Congress had a statistically better portfolio return than us proles.
Of course, I don’t of any Democrats that truly ‘share their wealth’.