Weekly Comments Archive
Archived Issue
Sunday, March 8, 2015
ISSUE #827
No government subsidies for this group

The economy is not coming back the way everyone wants.  We still have close to 50 million receiving food stamps and almost half the population don’t make enough to pay income taxes.  Wages for the middle class are stagnant.

But let me tell you about a big cross section of Americans that receives no financial aid from the government for food, no assistance for housing, and none for medical costs.  This may be hard to believe, but almost $60 Billion in expenses last year and not a speck of federal tax subsidies required. As near as I can tell, the entire amount is privately financed.  Amazingly, no one is lobbying Congress or conducting social media campaigns to get subsidies or to force price controls.

You want specifics? Food costs totaled $22 billion. And that included some high priced fancy foods such as gluten-free and gourmet meals. Medical care totaled $15 billion, including the latest life saving techniques and even plastic surgery.  Furnishings and other expenses for shelter and comfort totaled $14 billion. Another sizable expenditure was on day care, education, and various personal care services totaling $5 billion.

You may be thinking, these folks must be the Top One Percent that we all hear about and envy.

Not really.  The recipients of the $60 Billion in private dollar expenditures are 400 million pets. Yes, pets.  Dogs, cats, goldfish, parakeets, rabbits, lizards and other assorted creatures.

Now, I doubt the $60 Billion includes horses. Anyone who owns horses, or used to own horses, knows $60 billion would not touch their upkeep, even without gourmet food and plastic surgery.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“Personally, I have always felt that the best doctor in the world is the Veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter. He’s got to just know.”  Ether and Me (page 10), 1927

“I love a dog. He does nothing for political reasons.”  DT #2288, Dec. 3, 1933

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