21.4 family units

Haven't been "on vacation" other than some mental lapses but with the dog days of summer, the motivation to fire up and write some has withered in the heat. 

A quick pass through the cable dial yielded the same group of suspects saying pretty much the same thing so their dog days must have taken over.  Morning edition on NPR bobs and weaves with no sustainable "fire ups". Even the local bitch-blog that centers on a couple pseudonym writers pontificating on the ills of our village was too silly to even spend a minute on for inspiration, even though it offers the ultimate in low hanging fruit.

I guess the Mitt Romney "tax return" kerfuffle is the candidate du jour.  I can't get motivated. This entire business leaves me flat. What is in the returns is pretty obvious as it will be full of $77,000 dressage deductions and other nonsense. I'm pretty bummed by that; that $77k.  An unreasonable food stamp benefit for an elderly person or a mom with kids might be $300 a month or $10 a day.  That means a lot to a huge number of people, perhaps 20% of our population.  So Wilton writes off $77k which represents the trade that irks me. It is the trade between giving someone a tax deduction equal to that subsidy for 21.4 "units" NOT people but Food Stamp units, many of these units supporting multiple people.

So let me get this straight. In order to make sure that Wilton gets his $77,000 dressage deductions, 21.4 units of American folk, perhaps down a bit on their employment luck, or deserted by a husband, or whatever, will have their Food Stamps removed (Congress just cut Food Stamps back 20% in case you are wondering).  Dressage tax write offs v. eating.  How stark a choice can  one make.

The argument goes that Food Stamps are such a boondoggle that people have turned down raises so that they qualify for Food Stamps (don't make too much so to loose the opportunity).  Now what does that tell you?  What does it tell you that an associate at Wal-mart needs Food Stamps to feed his or her family while working 40hrs a week.  What does it tell you about the state of the Union that 20% of the folks need help feeding themselves and their families?

Probably a good exercise would be to give an elderly couple $10 a day to feed themselves on.  You gotta love mac and cheese in a box to do it.  It seems like a lot to some, really it does, and that one should have no problem with it but it isn't, by all accounts, the lap of luxury and some sort of cocaine addiction that people long to have.

But Wilton has his $77,000 dressage deduction and 21.4 units of real people don't get enough food. Seem like a fair trade to you Wilton? Why don't you go door to door in some neighborhoods and explain why feeding your horse should come at the expense of feeding a child.  Love to hear that one.