Rand Paul to America's Hungry Seniors: Let Them Eat Private Charity

[demmiblue]

Source: The Nation


In tough economic times, senior citizens often pay a brutal toll. Already saddled with limited means and poor health, it can be a struggle for some seniors even to get regular meals. A 2009 study found that 5 million seniors face the threat of hunger, which is over 11 percent of all senior citizens in the country.

A Senate subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, held a hearing Tuesday on the “human toll and budget consequences” of senior hunger. Panelists shared tales of woe from older Americans unable to get enough food, and urged increased funding for nutrition programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965.

This might have been non-controversial a few years ago, but not with the Tea Party in town. The hearing produced a fierce debate between Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. Rand Paul, the prototypical Tea Partier, about whether the government should even perform simple tasks like feeding hungry senior citizens.

<snip>

Sen. Paul, however, explicitly rejected this logic. “It’s curious that only in Washington can you spend $2 billion and claim that you’re saving money,” he said. “The idea or notion that spending money in Washington somehow is saving money really flies past most of the taxpayers.” Instead, Paul touted the “nobility of private charity” as opposed to government-funded “transfer programs.” He suggested privatizing Meals on Wheels and other government assistance for hungry seniors.

Sanders had none of this. “Senator Paul has suggested that only in Washington can people believe that spending money actually saves money. And I think that’s the kind of philosophy that results in us spending about twice as much per person on health care as any other country on earth,” Sanders said. “We have millions of millions of Americans who can’t get to a doctor on time. Some of them die, some of them become very, very ill and end up in the emergency room or end up in the hospital at great cost.


Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blog/161587/rand-paul-americas-hungry-seniors-let-them-eat-private-charity


Sanders :dilemma: Paul

[murielm99]

1. "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

Dickens, "A Christmas Carol."

And Rand Paul, too.

[SoCalDem]

2. Here's a UK photoshop that Rand would love

[demmiblue]

3. Heh!

:thumbsup:

[nichomachus]

4. Hey, what's wrong with being a beggar? It's honest work.

Here, grandma, you can have this corner.

[Zoeisright]

5. That "private charity" shit makes me see red.

No "private charity" has EVER been able to do what the government has: LIFT PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY.

and if "private charity" (read: churches) can help end hunger, what the fuck is stopping them? I see multi-million dollars churches all over the place, but plenty of hungry, homeless people.

FUCK RAND PAUL.

[InkAddict]

6. Their RW, fundamentalist, bigoted ,clubbish , blissful idiocy, and

willful belief system of a reliance on that "personal relationship with God" that stops at "I did it all my myself" passive-agressive attitude is what's stopping them. Unfortunately, they cannot think much beyond themselves w/those firm foundational beams of "perfect" judgment in their eyes. While they serve up their charity, they smote themselves on the chest with a "Thank God I'm not like those others" as they grab the best of the rummage. Certainly, they're completely lost to the concept of "There but for the grace of God" to motivate their generosity.

Members of my FIL's church would see this "humble-pie" kind of guy on Sundays; other days he was on his own. While he went to trim the church's roses, not one member checked on his needs, preferring to remain in the driveway chatting about the weather. We found the backyard unmowed and full of weeds, though the front was modestly manicured. He could not bring himself to "be a burden" and would certainly never specifically ask for his churchmembers help. Friends would send him cards and call, but he would not respond to their correspondences.

As FIL's health spiraled, he came to stay with us in another city to recuperate from his serious problems post-surgery. This occured at a time that his only son, my DH, was unemployed (somewhat a blessing since DH could care for him). One day his pastor called and relayed that, of course, it was Easter Time and FIL could usually be counted on for a donation... Imagine, thousands of dollars in medical bills and his church was looking for theirs. I'm ashamed to say I was NOT very christian with my response to that shepherd.

FIL fully believed he would get well and wanted his own apartment. When living alone though still nearby proved problematic, we got him a home health nurse who needed some work. She didn't need to do much but see that he got his medicines which were many. After a few weeks, FIL fired her. He dumped the Meals on Wheels down the drain because they were tainted with, gasp, vegetables. He couldn't hear the water running in the kitchen sink and let it spill over...he could not hear a knock at the door, but he was always positive he'd be "cured" despite not following medical advice. He was an independent kindaguy with an unchangeable ingrained belief in their own power and glory.

It's sad and, in the long run, destructive...What can one do?