Sigh

After a baffling personal attack by someone who doesn't know me, I spent a few hours stewing over it. People who DO know me told me to file 13 it and move on. Someone told me to delete the person's blog from my blogroll (ain't happening, the diehard journalist in me that still believes in Freedom of Speech can't blaspheme that much). Someone told me to channel my hurt into something constructive, so that's what I'm going to do. Well, a combination of #1 and #3. You can't make people who hate the thought of you like the real you.  Several points NOT personally attacking me were brought up in reference to the benevolence of Big Government, so I'll address one of those.

The first one that caught my eye was the subsidized school lunch program. See? If it wasn't for Big Government providing free lunch for disadvantaged kids, they would  be left by the Mean Old Right-Wing Teabaggers (hey I'm a Libertarian, I'm even more heartless) to starve in the streets. There are several problems with this. Waste, gaps, and redundancy. Let's go to school.
 

Waste

The National School Lunch Program cost $11.1 billion in FY 2011. By comparison, the lunch program's total cost in 1947 was $70 million; in 1950, $119.7 million; in 1960, $225.8 million; in 1970, $565.5 million; in 1980, $3.2 billion; in 1990, $3.7 billion; and in 2000, 6.1 billion.  (http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch/aboutlunch/NSLPFactSheet.pdf)

A butt-load of money is spent annually on subsidized school lunches. How grateful are the little darlings for this largess of the Left? This is something I can speak to with personal experience, having substituted for several years in rural, suburban, upscale urban and inner city schools. One thing I can tell you that runs the gamut of the socioeconomic spectrum is that kids don't like school lunches. It's just a matter of how they respond based on age. In pre-K/elementary, what I observed is that picky eaters are picky eaters, regardless of need. You can't tell an 8-year-old that this is the only meal he's going to get and it was paid for by generous taxpayers so he'd better eat up. What is universally eaten off the school lunch tray? Carbs and milk. Fruit and veggies and whatever that "protein" is will end up in the trash. 

Middle school kids get more creative. I have seen some blatant capitalism going on during lunch time, with these kids bartering what's on their tray for things from their buddies' lunches. Or just outright selling them. Can you think of anything more beautiful than taking a free commodity and selling it for 100% profit? Bless their little hearts. The rest of it ends up in the trash bin.

High school "young adults" are a whole different kettle of fun. There is literally no lonelier place than a high school cafeteria at lunch time; even on a closed campus, they can go to the gym, library or commons instead of the cafeteria. A note about the subsidized lunch program: schools are reimbursed based on the number of students "actively" participating in the program. That means if the kids aren't picking up a tray, the school doesn't get the money.  So, after the kiddos skip out on lunch, the school dietitian sends out letters informing mom and dad that starving Junior isn't showing up for his free lunch. This rarely gets a response. Second step is closing the on-campus escape routes, basically herding ungrateful, pissed-off teens through the lunch line. I spent two months subbing English at an inner city school where 80% of the student body was enrolled in the SLP. Cafeteria duty had me standing at the trash barrels to make sure eating utensils weren't pocketed (weapons) or thrown away.  I watched kid after kid move through the lunch line and head straight for the trash barrels, sneering at any adult in range as they tossed their Government largess before heading out the door.

Bottom line, the kids aren't benefiting.

 

Gaps

So what happens to the starving youth of America on long weekends and extended school vacations? Who's providing the free lunches then? Or does it matter? I can guarantee you, it ain't the Government; they're off the clock and can't be bothered. This is where sectarian charity steps in and covers Uncle Sam's ass. I have seen it in every school district large and small where I've worked. And I have heard that large, predominantly Blue cities have never experienced it. Churches around here rotate a Backpack program and Holiday lunch program, serving all kids regardless of church membership or affiliation.

The Backpack Program is simple, the churches find out how many kids need a backpack and then fill it with food for 2 meals a day through the weekend. I have never seen this fail. Granted, Michelle Obama would probably have kittens over what is in the packs. Short on arugula and Kobe beef sliders. Same with Holiday Programs. Boxes of food sufficient for extended school breaks are delivered to the kids' houses, more than enough to feed the whole family.

The churches rotate so it doesn't fall on one set of shoulders, and not a word is ever said about Government reimbursement.

 

Redundancy

This one is simple, folks, and the thing that irritates my hardened Libertarian heart. 100% of the kids receiving free lunches come from families who receive one or more other forms of entitlement, the most common being EBT cards. Let that sink in. These families are already receiving benefits for food, presumably lunches being covered. AND THEN they are receiving free breakfasts and lunches through the school. So typically, the only meals that they are required to cover with their EBT benefits are dinners. Government redundancy at its finest.

The argument, "But my EBT benefits aren't enough to buy groceries for packing lunches." Bullshit. There was a VERY LONG TIME when I fed a family of four on $50 a week. $200 a month. About the average for an EBT monthly benefit.

The problem is most of these families have come to rely on the government for everything, including feeding their kids. The thought of getting up every morning and packing lunches for their kids just never occurs to them. And even if the money wasted on the school lunch program was magically shifted to their EBT cards, it STILL wouldn't occur to them. It just isn't how things are done these days.

So there's my RANT for Monday. Bureaucratic Benevolence is the least practical, least cost effective and least appreciated form of helping. And in most cases, it is actually crippling our society.

Liberals, God love you (even if you don't believe in Him), bring it on. I'm ready.