Bless their coal-black hearts, but the people who voted for and still support failed, one-term former President Donald Trump love to pretend they care about other people (especially children), but then they start to talk or tweet and it becomes imminently clear that they (much like their tangerine-tinted savior) only care about themselves and believe the rest of us should go kick rocks,
For example, consider a wonderful article Catherine Rampell wrote for the Washington Post about how President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan will have a dramatic impact on the issue of child poverty in the United States:
“For decades, the general trend in federal fiscal policy, with some limited exceptions, has been to transfer wealth away from the young and toward the old. The federal government spends about six times as much per capita on older Americans (primarily in the form of Social Security and Medicare) as it does on children, according to the Urban Institute’s annual ‘Kids’ Share’ report; if you include state and local governments, which are responsible for most educational spending on kids, the per capita old vs. young ratio shrinks to ‘only’ about double.
“Thanks to Biden’s legislation, though, the United States will see a (partial) reversal of decades of de-prioritizing kids. The covid-19 package is expected to cut overall poverty by about one-third — and child poverty roughly in half, according to an analysis from the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University. Among the biggest beneficiaries of this law will be young children of color.”
This is a very big deal. Child poverty would be cut in half and children of color would see their lives dramatically improved. That’s the sort of thing this country hasn’t done since the Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs, which were transformational when passed back in the 1960s.
But Rampell quickly got all sorts of hate mail in regard to her column, with many of the commenters asking why children — who don’t pay taxes — should receive a damn thing. She shared some of them:
Those damn freeloading kids! In my day, we had to work 22 hours a day in the coal mines as soon as we reached our fifth birthday! Today’s kids have it way too easy! Make them get a job and pay taxes!
Absurd, isn’t it? Most of us read such comments and shake our heads, but the sad fact is that there are millions among us who actually believe children should be forced to work and pay bills. That’s how twisted and hypocritical these people are. And yet they can’t even realize they’re guilty of the same thing they’re accusing others of: Being selfish.
Trump enabled such thinking, making it clear that the wealthy in the U.S. have worked hard for their money. But Donald didn’t work hard for his. He inherited his fortune from his father, and has all but destroyed his inheritance, with the Trump Organization reportedly on the verge of financial collapse.
So the next time a Trumper claims to care about “the children,” remember that they’re just blowing smoke. They don’t care about anyone but themselves.
