Thanksgiving Parable

27 November 2008 |permalink | email article

“There are now 36.2 million Americans who cope daily with hunger, up by more than 3 million since 2000, according to the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, D.C. The number of people in the worst-off category – the hungriest – rose by 40 percent since 2000, to nearly 12 million people.

“The largess of Congress to Wall Street bankers and investors does not extend to the growing ranks of the poor. The U.S. Department of Agricultural Emergency Food Assistance Program donated $240 million in surplus food in 2003 to food banks and other programs. Those donations fell last year to $59 million.

“If Barack Obama…does not radically redirect the nation’s resources to assist the working class and the poor, we will become a third-world country.”

Chris Hedges’ Truthdig column

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