There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.
(Alfred Henry Lewis)




   \\\poverty and hunger in America\\\


1 in 8.

https://hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity/

"In 2017, an estimated 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure,
equating to 40 million Americans including more than 12 million
children."


From 2014 but still relevant:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/hunger/

I want to see our media covering farm subsidies that are paying out
millions of dollars a year to agricorps and asking tough questions
of our congresscritters as to why those companies need taxpayer
welfare while they and state governments are finding ways to push
ordinary people out of getting SNAP food assistance.


https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2018/08/14/mapping-the-u-s-farm-subsidy-1-million-club/#268581a03efc

"One out of every four dollars in farm subsidies went to someone
who received $250,000 or more that year."

"In fact, members crafting the policies on the agriculture
committees are, many times, large recipients of their subsidies. The
list includes Reps Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) with $1.3 million, Vicky
Hartzler (MO-4) with $20,420, Robert Gibbs (OH-18) with $7,660,
and Sens Charles Grassley (IA) with $58,210, and Debra Fischer (NE)
with $16,190 (payments between 2015-2017)."


Shouldn't there be an income cut-off for those subsidies?  What
benefit equal to that spending could the American people
*possibly* be getting?  It's just lining the pockets of people who
are already wealthy.  Meanwhile people are going without food or
skipping medications in order to eat today.  Congress and state
governments are finding ways to pare down welfare and foodstamps
eligibility.  People in 'coal country' and rural towns and inner
cities everywhere are trying to discover how to live when you just
do not eat enough.

I say we give the GAO a nice big new budget and turn them loose on
that program with a vengeance.  What is it supposed to do?

I want the statistics on hunger and access to healthcare included
in the same breath as the GDP and the inflation rate and the
NASDAQ fluctuations everyone fawns over even though they are
mostly so much statistical noise.  Every time those statistics are
quoted in the media.  Then maybe we would start to think a little
harder about why so many people in this country are so desperately
poor.

When NPR's 'Planet Money' and CNN and FOX report on the stock market
and monthly productivity, I want to hear how many Americans didn't
eat three square meals today.

Consider it Equal Time coverage.




                                                         NO CARRIER