Starvation is a Good Motivating Tool

Think the title of this article sounds ridiculous?  Cynthia Davis begs to differ.  This State Representative from Missouri posits that, in lieu of relying on a statewide summer food program, the children of the Show-Me State should find summer jobs to fund their food intake in the months between school years.  Scratch your head as Keith Olbermann, a political pundit on the opposite end of the political spectrum with equally over-the-top views, lampoons Davis’ recommendations:

Couldn’t believe your ears?  Read on as the Representative explains why the State shouldn’t bother with the nuisance of ensuring that the children of its subjects are fed:

• “Who’s buying dinner? Who is getting paid to serve the meal? Churches and other non-profits can do this at no cost to the taxpayer if it is warranted.”
• “Bigger governmental programs take away our connectedness to the human family, our brotherhood and our need for one another.”
• “Anyone under 18 can be eligible? Can’t they get a job during the summer by the time they are 16? Hunger can be a positive motivator. What is wrong with the idea of getting a job so you can get better meals? Tip: If you work for McDonald’s, they will feed you for free during your break.”
• “It really is all about increasing government spending, which means an increase in taxes for us to buy more free lunches and breakfasts.”

Having difficulty reconciling Davis’ position as Chairwoman of the Missouri House Special Standing Committee on Children and Families with her reluctance to feed children who would otherwise go hungry?  We here at BOTO parsed the Representative’s thought process via analogies.  Using hunger as a positive motivating tool is like using global warming as an incentive for people in coastal states to learn how to swim!  For her part, Nicole is perplexed as to why Davis, whose position on the committee should entail concern for kids, is turning the schoolchildren of Missouri into donkeys chasing the proverbial carrot at the end of the stick.

But we here at BOTO think we can assuage Davis’ anxiety over the State’s Summer Food Program.  First, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial, the majority of the program feeding sites are, in fact, hosted by churches.  The Missouri Representative seems to have overlooked this fact, but she needn’t worry anymore – surely she now has God’s seal of approval!  Second, Davis’ portrayal of “big government” impinging on relationships within families is a bit overblown.  People of Missouri, unless your state government is planning on tucking your kids in at night and walking your daughter down the aisle, I can assure you that your family will be roughly government-free.  One wonders whether Davis objects to the fact that the food program is simultaneously funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and hosted in churches…  Thirdly, Nicole would like to assure Davis that the state-provided meals, while funded by taxpayers, would provide children with a nutritional value at least comparable to the gourmet options available at the high-class fast-food establishment that everyone is lovin’.

Lastly, the staff of BOTO would like to put things in perspective.  For a net cost of less than $9.5 million the U.S. Department of Agriculture funded 3.7 million meals last summer.  While such figures seem “warranted” when the appetites of thousands of Missourian schoolchildren are at stake, perhaps Davis can come up with better uses of taxpayers’ money.  Nicole recommends a pay decrease for Ms. Davis to put money back in her constituents’ pockets.  Perhaps then they’d be able to afford a decent, nutritious meal for their children – or at least at trip to a fast-food chain.

Nicole Catá is a rising junior at Columbia University. She is honored to serve as your humble co-editor and snark-provider. Nicole respectfully reminds you to make way for ducklings. Read more.