As it increases its hold on the American political
system, the right is gradually unmasking its contempt for the poor.
That “unmasking” is behind two recent bills that
caught the internet’s attention this week. Kansas and Missouri’s legislatures
are working to target the social services provided to the state’s welfare
recipients, limiting how people on welfare can use their assistance. In
Missouri, a bill awaits Gov. Sam Brownback’s approval that would ban soda,
energy drinks, cookies, and chips. Curtailing spending on snacks and soft
drinks might be defensible from a public health angle (former New York mayor
Michael Bloomberg would be a fan), but the state is also targeting steak and
seafood—which speaks, ironically, less to concerns about welfare and more about
policing what poor people do.
