Mother Jones Peddles Racism To Slam Food Stamp Reform

On May 23, Erika Eichelberger at Mother Jones reported on Sen. David Vitter’s (R-Lousiana) food stamp proposal, and mentioned how it may have a racially skewed impact.  In other words, Sen. Vitter – and the GOP – are being racist with food stamp reform.  It’s a frivolous accusation, but ironically, the case against Vitter’s amendment is also based on racial assumptions.

On Wednesday the Senate agriculture committee approved a GOP proposal [1] that would amend the farm bill the Senate is considering to ban “convicted murderers, rapists, and pedophiles” from getting food stamps. On its surface, the idea sounds unobjectionable, but the measure would have “strongly racially discriminatory effects,” according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

The amendment, introduced by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), and agreed to by unanimous consent in the committee, would bar anyone who has ever been convicted of certain violent crimes—even if they committed the crimes in their youth and have served their sentence—from ever getting food stamps (called SNAP benefits) ever again. CBPP president Robert Greenstein slammed the amendment in astatement [2] Tuesday, calling it “stunning.” Because African Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than other races, he says, “the amendment would have a skewed racial impact. Poor elderly African Americans convicted of a single crime decades ago by segregated Southern juries would be among those hit.” Under current law, there is only a lifetime ban on food stamps for convicted drug felons, and many states have opted out of that ban.

So, liberals think that black men are more inclined to be violent criminals, and commit acts of violence, which is why this proposal is bad.  Yet, we’re the ones who are racist.  It’s a shame that African Americans are disproportionally incarcerated, but that’s due to a whole host of issues, like a failed  education system, which aren’t racially based.  If anything, education can play a critical role in reversing that trend, but liberals don’t seem to be putting reform on the top to their to-do list.  For now, liberals seem content with labeling all blacks as criminals to stifle meaningful reform to government programs.  That’s just classy.