A shameful new bill
To the editor:
Well folks, the “I got mine, to hell with you” members of the House of Representatives just passed another bill on July11. This one is a flat out give away to the rich and gives the poor and needy of our Great Nation a slap in the face.
You know, she got the farm and I got the shaft.
Well that’s what 40 million needy Americans woke up singing this morning. Anyone ever hear of the Farm Bill? Well, let me give you a little history lesson. Fifty years ago our then wise Congress implemented a program that would subsidize farmers who were having trouble making ends meet. This could be due to drought, insect infestation, whatever. They would be taken care of by our Government. After all, these good people were the providers of the beard basket of our Nation.
You remember them?
He had a pair of blue overalls on; she had an apron over her dress. Good hard- working folks.
Well, a few things have changed since those times. Now, Big Farma owns the majority of these mom-and-pop operations. One thing that has not changed, that is the Government giveaways to these “farmers.” Why? Well, somewhere on the way to the chapel the Democratic said “what about the people who are hungry?” Enter the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program.” Food stamps, if you will.
Obviously this was a compromise, pardon the cuss word, to obtain bipartisan support for the program. So the beat went on for 50 years, until July 11, 2013. That was the day that the Republicans in the House decided to slit their own throats. Let me explain. First of all, they passed the entire bill in 10 hours, violating their own rule of transparency, along with a three day waiting period (their rule), to allow their members time to at least read the bill. They also prohibited legislators from introducing any amendments to the bill. Add to this list of shameful behavior, the fact that they disallowed any verbiage in the bill that would have prevented lawmakers from not receiving any benefits from the bill they were about to vote on. You want to talk about political corruption; well you got it right here in the Republican controlled United States House of Representatives.
Now to the political suicide pact they made with themselves. They denied 40 million citizens of greatly needed food stamps to feed their families, at the same time handing out millions of dollars to 800,000 Big Farma companies. That’s a 50 to 1 margin, considering the people that got screwed to the big corporations who are sitting around waiting for their government hand out checks. Ever heard of General Custer at Little Big Horn? See you morons at the ballot box.
Jim Healy
Cape Coral