Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced her state won’t take part in a food assistance program for children of low-income households. Melania is probably saying in approval n as nasty an ironic screw you for being poor way “Merry fooking Chreesmus!.” Maybe even she’ll have one of those “I Don’t Really Care Do You? coats sent to Reynolds.
I complain about my life not being what I’d expected it to be, but this Christmas I was warm and safe, had some extra money to have an especially nice batch of food for the holiday. In the grans scheme of things I struggle sometimes but I know how much worse off I could be. More importantly I know, as I have my entire life that countless people struggle far more than I ever have. I feel badly for people who try and can’t seem to climb out of the struggles low-income/wages workers deal with day in and day out. But I truly hurt inside for the children in such families. It’s not like they can do anything about their lot in life. I hurt inside for what all those children in Iowa will experience this summer, just so Reynolds can look tough to Iowa Republicans
Let’s look a bit closer at what’s going on here. During the school year, there are programs to help low-income kids get a decent lunch and breakfast has gotten into the mix too. However, once school is out? It’s a different story. So a federal program was established to add an extra $40 per month to EBT cards to low-income parents during summer months to help alleviate child HUNGER. Alas, in typical conservative fashion Reynolds adheres to the “You’re on your own” dogma.
As this article from Huffington Post lays out Iowa has just announced it won’t take part in the federal program that provides that $40 a month for children in low income families:
The state has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education said in a Friday news release.
In the release Reynolds says this type of program established during the COVID ear “is not sustainable” and that the federal govt. should “look for long term solutions.” She says instead they should invest in already existing programs (Yo Kim, this IS now an existing program!) and “give states the flexibility to tailor the programs to their own needs.” Sounds to me like the old days when the GOP was all about block grants – just give states a pile of cash under a very general heading and let them do what they will. Call me cynical but given that federal money to Iowa to use as they will to reduce child hunger won’t go to help low income families feed their kids during the summer months.
What’s really nuts is that it’s a federal program, and all Iowa has to kick in is half the administrative costs which in their case is estimated (according to the linked article) to be about 2.2 million. And as far as Reynold is concerned rather than spend that small (by a state budget standards) amount kids can go hungry. Again, this was announced just this past Friday. Happy Holidays Iowans. Unless you happen to be a child in a low-income family.
So much for the Christmas Spirit.
Like so many others Reynolds wears what she calls Christianity on her sleeve. And like so many “Christian conservatives, especially the Evangelicals which make up the bulk of IOW GOpers she ignores the teachings of Jesus. If she and her ilk had been at the Sermon on the Mount she/they would have been aghast that Jesus fed the multitudes for FREE! Things about looking for and helping those in need? Forget about it. That “what you do for the least of these you do for me” is f**king heresy to them and their Prosperity Gospel beliefs.
Rachel Maddow likes to say “Don’t watch what they say, watch what they do.” Well, from where I sit these “Super Christiany” people like Reynolds should keep in mind that their JEEBUS is watching what they do. He and his pops, God the Father Almighty just might make it a point to ensure Reynolds and those like her spend their eternity in hell. I can imagine him saying (when he meets them to tell them he’s sending them right down to hell) “You want to stick coal in the stockings of poor kids during the Christmas season? You’ll spend eternity seeing coal as you roast on a spit over a coal fueled fire!
This is unacceptable. Such a wealthy country, we choose not to “afford” pennies to help. The hypocrisy of the social right is disgusting.
Same is true for Health Care. Every other developed country has a national health care system paid for via taxes. We collectively pay more than EVERY other country yet our ranking in the quality of all manner of common health care needs is well down the list in outcomes. Conservatives say “we can’t afford it.” Bullshit.
Can’t count how many times I have heard old white “Christians” say”They just need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps”. When in fact the people who need the help can’t afford to buy shoes much less boots!! The bottom line is their only thought is “I’ve got mine and I’m not giving any of it up for some losers”. Thank you Denis for your articles. I always enjoy them!
Too bad the food money can’t be permanently tied to FARM BAILOUTS. If the big Iowa farmers want THEIR “socialism”, they MUST allow the children theirs. Otherwise, SCREW THEM.
This is such a counterintuitive thing to do. The money comes in to EBT cards, it gets spent in grocery stores on food. Iowa is a big ag state. They make money from food. I guess logic is not strong in gov. reynolds.
Just as a useless aside, way back in the day I worked for a 24 hour convenience store. We got a training on how to use what were actually food stamps. They really looked more like coupons. We had to recognize what foods they could use them on, like anything with milk, eggs or flour were acceptable, so donuts and snack cakes were okay. Alcohol and cigarettes were not. Since the smallest denomination was a dollar, we had to give back change in change. We had to watch out for someone who was spending small amounts in order to get enough change to buy a pack of cigarettes (less than a dollar) or maybe a beer (maybe 50 cents). fun times, mis dos centavos
Unlike the Grinch, they learn nothing about the gospel at Christmas time, and their hearts shrink instead of enlarging. I’m sure HER kids are well fed.
The atmosphere in Iowa is contaminated by the vile things done and said by our Gov, and other Republicans that have been, “installed”, in our local government …
Her imbalance of conscience was displayed way back when Trump’s uncaring for anyone but himself, gave a big boost to the Pandemic and Iowa was starting to get sick … what do you suppose Kim did about the first wave of tests and then anti virus shots, there were about 10,000 early units available to Iowa? …
All those units went to the packing plants so there would still be money made by the plants.
All her public announcements were about how many people were infected, hospital loads, etc.,. Never how many died from lack of treatment or over-loaded demands for tests and treatments … Many died in Nursing homes because of her ignorance …
She’s a real piece of work, Trump is still running her slobbering praise for him while he was in Iowa … We all know what happened when Trump pretended to be a president, now, Kim is praising De Dumb Dumb from Florida … That too, could change, watching the waves of popularity reports …
So far, Iowa, with Grassley, Ernst in the Senate, we have seen very little done for the people, just the big money … These obtuse things Kim signs for are products of a GOP that squeaks when it moves, because it wants to keep satisfying the demands of the CEO’s and boards of directors that push crap around in politics, they have become very tight on what they call give-aways which, like Denis explains is such a small amount and NOT a give at all, but rather a small boost to help children survive and thrive …
Too bad these creeps in government make all these changes by signature without general knowledge of what is at risk and what the real deals are …