Via Jared Bernstein, we learn about how the sequester has made us a stronger country:
At least two Indiana Head Start programs have resorted to a random drawing to determine which three-dozen preschool students will be removed from the education program for low-income families, a move officials said was necessary to limit the impact of mandatory across-the-board federal spending cuts…
Columbus resident Alice Miller told WTHR-TV that her 4-year-old son, Sage, was one of the children cut from the program. She spoke about how the program has helped her son advance academically and socially…“He loves school,” Miller said. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell him he’s not going back.”
To this, Bernstein responds, “If that doesn’t break your heart, you might want to get to the emergency room to see if it’s still there.” I part company with him somewhat on this. This story doesn’t make me heartbroken: it makes me angry. I am sad for the little boy who now cannot go to school, which he loves. But I am outraged at those who think that this bears any relationship to justice. Sage Miller can’t go to school because Republicans think it is more important to protect the carried-interest loophole. The supposedly religious Christians who think we need to bring God into public policy might want to review the story of Nathan the Prophet after they finish demonizing gays and lesbians.
It also outrages me as a taxpayer. We are injuring these children, and that will injure our country in the future. You don’t have to be a bleeding heart, or Nathan the Prophet, to object to this. You just have to be a patriot.
[Originally posted at The Reality-based Community]
