Cutting Food Aid While Sending Billions for Bombs?
When pundits worry about America’s social safety net, they often overlook where American tax dollars actually go. The Hill piece correctly identifies threats to food aid, but fails to connect the dots. The same legislative bodies slashing domestic programs, like SNAP which provides critical food assistance, routinely approve billions in military aid to foreign nations. For example, Rep. Jim
McGovern, a co-chair for the House Hunger Caucus, has pointed out the stark choice Congress continually makes between funding social programs and military spending. Last year alone, the US committed billions in military aid package for Israel, money that could easily bolster domestic food security. It appears our leaders are quite adept at finding resources when the 'national interest' (read:
defense contractor profits and geopolitical posturing) is involved. One might wonder if the public safety net would look a lot healthier if it received a fraction of the funding routinely allocated to bombs and foreign military adventures. How many hungry Americans could be fed for the cost of one F-35?