Stephen Fincher is the Small Mind of the Day

As you may have heard, Republicans in the House of Representatives eliminated food stamps from the recent farm bill.

Why? Representative Stephen Fincher (Republican, Tennessee) explained by quoting Thessalonians: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

The assumption here is that anyone on food stamps is unwilling to work, and thus, should not get a government subsidy.

What’s interesting is that Fincher is listed as one of the most corrupt politicians in Washington, DC. For example, over the years, Fincher himself has received $3.5 million in federal agricultural subsidies. See, he’s a cotton grower, and so stands to benefit from passing the farm bill.

But still, there’s got to be massive fraud in the food stamp program, right?

Wrong. The New York Times reports that error and fraud in the agricultural crop insurance program is significantly higher than in the food stamp program.

Another important thing—food stamps go to poor people. Farm aid goes to corporations. The smallest farms will get $5,000 of aid, on average. The biggest farms (which comprise the top 20%)? One million dollars and up.

Here’s Fincher again: “The role of citizens, of Christians, of humanity, is to take care of each other. But not for Washington to steal money from those in the country and give to others in the country.”

Hypocrisy, thy name is Fincher!