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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/06/05/982161/-The-Philosophy-of-Mean?via=blog_1
Sun Jun 05, 2011 at 10:00 AM PDT
by Hunter for Daily Kos
Are there no poorhouses? And wait,
why the hell are we paying for poorhouses?
Politics can be a complicated business. Every yes-or-no vote may represent something more nuanced, behind the scenes; politicians may plot out long-term strategies or short-term ones; catering to one constituency may require irking another. These things are all true.
But at the end of the day, if you don't want to be perceived as a simple, cold hearted son-of-a-bitch, then you may want to rethink a political philosophy that requires you, at every possible turn, to behave like a son-of-a-bitch.
House Republicans are pushing back against a series of public health measures, including school lunch standards and tobacco regulation, teeing up a confrontation with Senate Democrats and the White House over the reach of government in daily life. [...]
On Tuesday, the GOP majority on the House Appropriations Committee approved a 2012 spending plan that directs the Agriculture Department to ditch the first new nutritional standards in 15 years proposed for school breakfasts and lunches. The lawmakers say meals containing more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy will cost an additional $7 billion over five years — money they say the country can ill afford in difficult economic times.
Can ill afford? Seven billion dollars over a half decade is, from the standpoint of the larger budget, not a lot of money. And seven billion dollars nationwide to feed schoolchildren fruits, vegetables and low-fat milk especially seems like not a lot of money. Farmers would be able to sell more produce, which would help a continually troubled economic segment. Kids would get healthier meals, and not be prodded daily into eating something worse — at least, not directly from their school. And if you are going to have a nutritional standard for school lunches, and God knows what slop and dreck we would be feeding our children, if the school budgeters could choose anything they wanted, it makes sense to make that standard be something that would at least not actively hinder their health. Healthier children turn into healthier adults: healthier adults have lower medical bills; lower medical bills translate into lower government costs later.
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