Cut to wheels on meals

Discussion in 'Political Discussions' started by Abner, Mar 17, 2017.

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  1. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    While giving more tax cuts to the rich?

    Rep. Chris Collins on Meals on Wheels cuts: "That's not my plan" - CNNPolitics.com

    "Collins, who provided Trump's first congressional endorsement during the primaries, distanced himself from the President in this conversation. Instead, the lawmaker spoke about his personal experience with Meals on Wheels, saying that his mother-in-law received five meals a week from the program.
    Not only did it provide her with food, but it also kept her safe as she lived alone, he said"

    Good for Collins.
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Hmmmm . . . Wheels on meals . . . sort of a lunchbox derby?
     
  3. jhp

    jhp Member

  4. heirophant

    heirophant Well-Known Member

    My understanding is that Trump's proposed budget (the real budget must be passed by Congress) eliminates what are called 'Community Development Block Grants'. Arguably the money amounts to a slush fund for the Democratic party's pet causes in many localities, much of it is wasted and it has produced few results over the years. But in some places some of the money apparently does go to worthy causes like Meals on Wheels.

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2017/03/16/liberals-stop-saying-that-trump-will-kill-meals-on-wheels/#6dad26263395

    So, what effect would eliminating the block grants really have on Meals on Wheels?

    As jhp reports up above, Page 18 of their latest annual report tells us that most of Meals on Wheels' funding comes from contributions from corporations and foundations (68%) and from individual contributions (an additional 16% for a total of 84%). Only 3% of Meals on Wheels funding comes from government grants. Federal funding probably contributes less than that, since I'd expect that some of those government grants are state and local.

    http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/docs/default-source/financials/annual-report-2015---digital.pdf?sfvrsn=2

    Yet, if you read the mainstream media this morning, it's all about how the fascist Trump and the evil GOP are trying to starve granny by killing meals on wheels. For example:

    Time - "Trump's budget would kill a program that feeds 2.4 million senior citizens."
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The problem with the proposed budget isn't tax cuts, it's that it has even more corporate welfare for arms manufacturers. If the mission of the U.S. armed forces were simply to defend the U.S. rather than to maintain an empire, it could literally be done for one tenth the cost.
     
  6. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    I delivered a lot of meals to seniors in Portland, OR with M-on-W when I was in the Marine Corps. They liked seeing us in uniform. The naked wheelchair guy was always fun, and this one Hispanic lady was so sweet to us. But none of us liked her son who would start eating her food right while we were still there.


    The "keeping her safe" bit is a super annoying stretch of the truth. I'm getting tired of people getting away with abusing language like that. It's disingenuous and people are not falling for it anymore. At least they shouldn't be.


    3%? Good grief, what a bunch of rubes. The rallying cry heard round Facebook. So predictable.
     
  7. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Well, if the WH doesn't like the negative headlines, maybe they should reprioritize their policies. Any cuts to Meals on Wheels and WIC are bound to attract publicity.

    What bothers me the most are cuts to NIH and public health research. Also, the rest of that dreadful document.
     
  8. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    But then Dominica would be but a sand spit in the Socialist Archipelago of Cuba.
     
  9. jhp

    jhp Member

    Strategically speaking, the worst kind of defensive position is "hunker down". It allows the enemy to walk all the way up to a door, leaving no room to fall back, no room to prepare, no chance for recovery.
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The biggest Cuban foreign intervention was in Angola and that peaked at what, 25,000 troops? That's not nearly enough to take over the Caribbean.

    Nice attempt at fearmongering, though.
     
  11. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    The U.S. has nuclear weapons and a global delivery system for them. And there are more guns in private hands in the U.S. than there people. No one is going to try to invade the U.S. No one.
     
  12. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    Not fear mongering but reality. The Cuban communists were fomenting revolution all through the Caribbean and Latin America. Where again was Ernie Lynch Guevara killed?
     
  13. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Most important word there is "killed" -- and good riddance! The sad part is that after the Cubans realized that invasions don't work, they switched gears and started offering aid to small countries to buy their affection -- scholarships at Cuban universities, Cuban doctors sent to hospitals, that sort of thing -- and it worked. Plenty of Caribbean people who absolutely ought to know better think highly of the Castro regime as a result.
     
  14. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I think you know full well that the Trump administration will get negative headlines whether they deserve it or not. And in this case, they don't:

    Does Melania Trump's security detail cost more than federal arts budget? | PunditFact
     
  15. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Obamas' terrorist fist bump, anyone?
    Look, it is bad practice to produce and share fake news. However, it is not like this is in any way unprecedented, isn't it?
     
  16. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    There's no more lame answer than "But they do it too!"
     
  17. b4cz28

    b4cz28 Active Member

    I have to agree with some on here that the military budget is absurd. That's more money that could be used in other areas...like building a wall. I'd even be ok with some of it going to ICE.
     
  18. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Except maybe pointing out that a lot of stuff on the Internet is b.s. in the first place.
     
  19. jhp

    jhp Member

    Hmmm... Happened before. Operation Pastorius, Aleutian Islands of Alaska, Lookout Air Raids and the Yokosuka E14Y bombing Oregon... but you are missing the strategic point.
     
  20. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    I'm not. This isn't 1942. Nukes change everything. As vexing as they are, North Korea cannot be invaded because of the risk of losing Seoul or Tokyo.
     

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