Robbing the Poor

Remember when the President had the revelation that there were poor people in this country and announced that "we have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action"? Well, the latest response some Republicans have mustered on behalf of the poor in the wake of the hurricane is indeed bold: blaming aid to the poor for poverty itself. That's right, as these clever conservatives tell it, the poor people you saw on TV and Bush glimpsed in his "disaster highlights" DVD have food stamps, Medicaid and welfare to thank for their situation. The problem with such aid, according to this logic, is that it creates dependence. Consider those in Louisiana, where welfare benefits averaged less than $240 per month last year, who didn't have the cash to buy a bus ticket out because the storm hit after their benefits checks ran out. Way too dependent, according to these Republicans. Their solution? Slash benefits further.

Even before the storm--as the Census was coming out with the news that there were a million new poor people in the country, that household incomes failed to increase for the fifth straight year and that income inequality was at near all-time highs--Congress was eyeing Medicaid, food stamps and student loans as it sought $35 billion in spending cuts.

The storm only made things worse for the poor, costing an estimated 400,000 jobs and leaving as many as 900,000 people homeless and scattered across the country, often with only a few dollars in their pockets. Without jobs or cash, many are unable to get healthcare; so far, more than half of Katrina evacuees from Louisiana who have applied for Medicaid have been rejected. Given this devastating new reality--and, perhaps more important, the fact that the whole world has been witness to it--many thought Republicans would not dare try to cut aid for the neediest.

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