One Utah

I was inspired by Cliff’s excellent God Gap post earlier today, where he links to a 1999 Bush speech that was part of the now-forgotten GOP “compassionate conservatism” meme. Here’s a key quote from that old speech:

[O]ur nation must get beyond two narrow mindsets. The first is that government provides the only real compassion. A belief that what is done by caring people through church and charity is secondary and marginal. Some Washington politicians call these efforts “crumbs of compassion.” These aren’t “crumbs” to people whose lives are changed, they are the hope of renewal and salvation. These are not the “crumbs of compassion,” they are the bread of life. And they are the strength and soul of America.

There is another destructive mindset: the idea that if government would only get out of our way, all our problems would be solved. An approach with no higher goal, no nobler purpose, than “Leave us alone.”

Yet this is not who we are as Americans. We have always found our better selves in sympathy and generosity, both in our lives and in our laws. Americans will never write the epitaph of idealism. It emerges from our nature as a people, with a vision of the common good beyond profit and loss. Our national character shines in our compassion.

So, how is the country doing after a six-year diet of crumbs? Well, the good news is that, just in time for Thanksgiving, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found a way to eliminate hunger in America. The USDA will now use the term “very low food security” to describe people who used to be considered “food insecure with hunger.” Statistically speaking, hunger will no longer exist for the 3.9 percent of U.S. households in the “very low” category (this represents about 11 million people, using 2000 Census figures). The bad news is that the latest report says we have seen five straight years of increases in the number of Americans unable to afford the food they need.

The economy is obviously part of the problem, but Bush has also cut back the supply of crumbs. The latest example is the decision to eliminate funding for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, terminating food assistance to 420,000 low-income seniors in an average month. This program only costs $20 per month for each recipient of a food package of canned tuna fish, peanut butter, cheese, cereal, and canned fruits and vegetables. This comes on the heels of a previous budget cut for the Food Stamp Program.

Of course, you can complain about tax cuts for the rich, rising health care costs, Social Security privatization, cutbacks in college loans, what have you. All that is secondary for those who used to be called “hungry” but now are what– foodless?

This entry was posted Tuesday, November 21st, 2006 at 2:39 pm and is filed under Economy, George W. Bush, National Politics, Religious Fundamentalism, Society, This Blog. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.