The first story did not mention food stamps, but everybody knows millions of Americans and their Congressmen are setting their sights on welfare. After all, those people will tell you, the welfare and food stamp programs are weighted down by countless lazy, unaccountable, irresponsible hangers- on who drain money and take advantage of the system. And then there's Ginny, who has been chipping away at the American dream all her life. In spite of her undying dedication to the work ethic, she now finds herself scraping the bottom of an empty barrel. Conservatives pledge Congress has no intention of making life harder for working mothers with children.
Technicalities only matter so much.
What matters is America has evolved into an angry, sputtering bully. We are entrenched in a frightening period in which politicians thrive on the John Q. Voter's fear everyone else in society is trying to take advantage of him. That policy is evident in conservatives full-fledged assault on affirmative action. When it comes to welfare, more and more people seek to make sure nobody else is living off their taxes. Meanwhile the new Congress careens downhill on the apparent strength of last fall's landslide vote.