Priorities, Part IIIV
by digby
The only good ex-offender is a hungry and desperate ex-offender:
On Wednesday, the 2013 Senate Farm Bill was amended by to make those convicted of certain violent crimes ineligible for SNAP (Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, popularly known as food stamps. The amendment was passed by unanimous consent, meaning that neither Republicans nor Democrats objected to the bill.
The new eligibility requirements were proposed by Republican Senator David Vitter of Louisiana, who at the same time introduced another amendment designed to end the so-called “Obama phone” program which helps low-income Americans obtain cell phones. The Senate’s Farm Bill—a large piece of legislation passed once every few years to regulate, fund and subsidize various programs related to agriculture and food production—already included language that would cut food stamps by about $4.1 billion.
“Under current law, there is a lifetime ban for convicted drug felons, though many states have opted out of or modified that ban,” reads a statement from Vitter’s office. “Vitter’s amendment would extend the lifetime food stamp ban to dangerous sex offenders and murderers.”
Right. You can never pay for your crimes in America. You will be punished and punished and punished, basically forever. The fact that it will likely end up creating more crime isn’t important. We just want to make all the self-righteous “good” people feel even better about themselves. That’s all that matters.
When a country’s leadership openly proposes that its people should go hungry — any of its people — something has gone very wrong.
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