The War on Poor People

John Derbyshire calls the culture war a cold civil war. I like it, even though it is imperfect. In modern America, we have two groups of white people. One hates the other with the intensity of a thousand suns. The other can’t figure it out. That’s means it is less of a civil war than an occupation. The ruling whites despise the colonized whites or something like that. This story in America’s Paper of Record is great example.

More than half the members of the City Council have fired off a letter to Walmart demanding that it stop making millions in charitable contributions to local groups here.

Twenty-six of the 51 members of the Council charged in the letter that the world’s biggest retailer’s support of local causes is a cynical ploy to enter the market here.

“We know how desperate you are to find a foothold in New York City to buy influence and support here,” says the letter, obtained by The Post and addressed to Walmart and the Walton Family Foundation.

“Stop spending your dangerous dollars in our city,” the testy letter demands. “That’s right: this is a cease-and-desist letter.”

That can only make sense when you have lost your marbles. These people hate WalMart so much they will deprive their own people of charity to make it clear how much they hate WalMart. Why do they hate WalMart? It’s southern!

Last week, Walmart announced that it distributed $3 million last year to charities here, including $1 million to the New York Women’s Foundation, which offers job training, and $30,000 to Bailey House, which distributes groceries to low-income residents.

Walmart, which has been thwarted by union-backed opposition for more than a decade, said the handouts “can make a difference on big issues like hunger relief and career development.”

The retail giant said its business agenda “aligns with supporting the local organizations that are important to our customers and associates.”

But Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito called the donations “toxic money,” and accused Walmart of waging a “cynical public-relations campaign that disguises Walmart’s backwards anti-job agenda.”

There’s a level of crazy that lies beyond the ability to comprehend. This lunatic is just spitting out all the scare words she can conjure. There was a time when this sort of behavior disqualified you from public office – even in New York City.

One thought on “The War on Poor People

  1. As a NYC suburb dweller, I think you are taking this too seriously. It’s not a “war on poor people,” as these politicians couldn’t care less about poor people. I think the mistake a lot of people make about liberal/left politicians of this sort is that they think they are in politics/activism out of some sort of idealism and that if we could just appeal to that idealism, we could get them to see that their policies are hurting the people they want to help.

    In fact, it is much more useful to see the NYC Council as made up of hustling, dynamic political entrepreneurs. Their “brand” is caring about poor people. As long as the morons in their districts buy into it, why should the politicians care if they help them or not? It’s a drain on time and resources.

    So once 51% of their constituents are committed to the brand, our NYC Councilmen go in search of other revenue, among them the unions, wealthy activists, and small businesses that oppose WalMart. That is all this is: A new revenue stream.

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