Monday, December 1, 2008

A bailout for the hungry?

As more and more special interests crowd around the bailout trough in D.C., one group could stand to have a bigger megaphone - the hungry. 

National advocate Joel Berg recently pointed out in the Houston Chronicle (and on Texas radio), that if anyone deserves a rescue package, it is the nation's hungry. 

"Just as it is unthinkable for the country to allow financial giants to go belly up," writes Berg, "it should be unthinkable to look the other way as tens of millions of low-income Americans (the types of people who clean the offices of AIG and Fannie Mae at night) go without food or shelter."

San Antonio TV reporter Randy Beamer echoed Berg's sentiment online. While some claim that Texas is "doing fine," points out Beamer: "With unemployment rising, the cost of so much of everything rising with it, and the price of gas hitting record highs over the summer, the Food Bank is getting more requests for help than ever before."

Congress can help immediately by enacting a second stimulus package with help for food banks and the people they serve. Not only would such stimulus be spent quickly and locally, it would go to those Texans who need it most! 

No comments: