Worth reading: A Political Glossary. By Thomas Sowell
Excerpt: One of the most versatile terms in the political vocabulary is "fairness." … And recently we have heard that the rich don't pay their "fair share" of taxes. Some of us may want to see a definition of what is "fair." But a concrete definition would destroy the versatility of the word, which is what makes it so useful politically. (from my next “Random Thoughts” column: Last night, I met one of “The Hungry.” Young, fit, healthy-looking guy ahead of me at Walgreens tried to buy two sports energy drinks with his food stamps credit card, called, I think, "Link" around here. It didn't work, so he paid with a $100 bill. Really. The older female clerk, not as fit, looking tired from standing on her feet all day at a low-paid retail job, said to me after he left, "our money." Just two words. I wonder how much longer folks are going to take it. ~Bob.)
Government wants more people on food stamps
Excerpt: More than one in seven Americans are on food stamps, but the federal government wants even more people to sign up for the safety net program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads for the past four months encouraging those eligible to enroll. The campaign is targeted at the elderly, working poor, the unemployed and Hispanics. (creating ever-more government-dependent voters. But when the money is gone, it will get very ugly, very fast. ~Bob.)