Although I consider myself a Christian I certainly understand that the US is NOT a Christian Nation, nor should it be. I am vehemently opposed to any state endorsing or preferring a specific faith or faiths over others.
The reason I included the phrase “Christian nation” in my comment is the amount of support this current administration seems to receive from certain segments of the “religious” community and supposed “Christians” when the leader’s words and actions seem to so perfectly embody the 7 deadly sins.
I know of no other person on earth who seems to embody more strongly, publicly, or consistently the traits of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth.
Dismantling an Agency that specifically feeds the hungry around the world runs counter to all the lessons I learned in Sunday School. The fact the richest man in the world is orchestrating it makes it to me the most repulsive thing this country has done since we stole and never returned many children from their undocumented parents.
The best job I ever had in my career was transporting PL480 cargo. It was rewarding to bring home grown food to malnourished nations — it really felt like I was doing my part to help. Compared to the rest of the industry we were making horrible wages but heading home on an empty bulk carrier knowing we left some form of hope behind was a consolation.
When they ended it for cash transfers instead around 2013 a lot of us were a little… pissed. I’d gladly go back to a job like that again.
Thank you for sharing this insight of your personal experience with the program.
I suspect that your feelings echo those of a lot of individuals who choose to work directly or indirectly with government service. Whether uniformed or civilian I think there is often a unique satisfaction in being part of a mission that makes life better for fellow citizens of this nation or the world.
I don’t think anyone chooses a career with the federal government to get rich. Typically there is far more money to be made in the private sector of pretty much any field. However public service can come with a certain fulfillment and sense of purpose for those who choose to serve in agencies whose missions align with their own interests or ideals.
Bringing this back full circle to NOAA I suspect most individuals pursuing a degree in meteorology see NOAA and NWS as the preeminent employer to enable them to fulfill their ambitions of working with other passionate weather scientists while maximizing benefit to the Nation and her citizens. I certainly don’t picture a desire to pursue meteorology or a job with NOAA as a way to ensure riches or maximize wealth.
I find it most unfortunate that we have entered an age where career public servants are viewed by some as lazy, entitled, suckers, or driven by the most negative of motivations.
I’d amend this to say that not everyone chooses it for this reason. There are those who apply, get in and get comfortable because, while they won’t get super rich, they won’t starve — and it comes with pretty good job security, benefits and a pension.
The forum threads regarding MSC where posters share their experiences with licensed and unlicensed mariners alike ooze this sentiment.
But I digress. My time on grain ships hauling PL480 cargo stand as the best and proudest years in my career.
I’ve mentioned a few times on here about my limited adventures visiting North Korea. It was delivering the same aide on a tug & barge. From the soil prep, sowing the seeds, watering, harvesting, shipping down the Mississippi, to boxing, shipping overseas to South Korea & then to us on our tug & barge, it was all 100% money invested in Americans & in the US economy. It was only the end product that was handed off to the starving North Koreans considered charity. Everything before handing off the food was an investment in the US imo.
I do give to some extent, but will definitely need to increase my giving in light of the decrease in assistance that will be available to those most in need, both here at home and abroad. There is already more than enough suffering and want in this world and it is sad to me that our nation is reducing it’s efforts to try and remedy this both domestically and abroad. When I think of the “greatness” of our Nation, our ability and choice to share our unequaled wealth is one of the first things that comes to mind.
How sad that RFK Jr is aspiring to be part of an administration actively dismantling programs that his uncle once installed with a vision for the “greatness” that America had to offer the world.
The NOAA fleet represents the largest fleet of ships devoted to science in the world. I think that’s pretty “great”; whether it’s manned by civilians, uniformed personnel, or some combination of the two.
Reducing our footprint and opportunity to effect positive change and improve lives globally does not in any way feel like making America “Great Again” unless you feel like the Gilded Age is a time and ethos to aspire to.
It does not make economic sense either, since USAid buy $$ bn of agricultural products, goods and services from US farmers, manufacturers and service companies annually.
I don’t know how large % this is of the total USAid budget.
Anybody have the figure handy?
What also doesn’t make any economic sense is to simultaneously start a tariff war with some of your closest allied nations that supply critical food and supplies while also cracking down on the critical immigrant labor pool.
We need to rebuild after recent hurricanes and fires and a great deal of our lumber comes from Canada. Canada and Mexico are two of the top five concrete importers to the US. Expect significantly higher prices on lumber and building materials. We need more labor to work in the building trades to help us rebuild. The crackdown on immigration is going to make it harder to find employees to help us rebuild, particularly in California.
Similarly with our food supply. Farmers rely heavily on immigrant labor to grow, harvest, transport, and process food within our domestic food chain. Policies that aggressively target immigrants will again lead to labor shortages and increased prices; especially when coupled with increased prices for any imported food stuffs. California produces more food than any other state in the Union, so again this is going to hit California particularly hard but the high costs will be nationwide.
None of this makes any economic sense. Taking over Gaza would potentially be a bigger boondoggle than Iraq! And yet all of these are policies that are put forward.
If you keep trying to find the reason behind this you’re going to drive yourself crazy, my friend.
None of it is supposed to make sense. It is meant to keep a party in power. Nothing else. You keep that party in power by appealing to their supporters’ emotional need to punish their perceived enemies in certain states, and to keep their supporters perpetually high on anger.
This is a cold, hard assessment after watching politics for many years. It is revealing, too, to see the news cycle from countries outside of the USA. The difference is startling. American cable news channels stand out as angry, 24/7, with no thought to the consequence of that anger.
They, and the rise of political Youtube videos, are the first digital drugs. Highly-addictive and designed to deliver an intense outrage high. They are the first drugs that don’t destroy the individual but the nation as a whole. And part of the formulation of those drugs are political policies meant to stoke outrage. That’s the reason for them.
Yes and when the Dept of Education goes away the states will have to make up for the lost funding or cancel programs such as Title 1 which provides additional funding for low income students. But of course the people doing the cutting don’t care about the low income kids anyway.
Way off the subject of the OP
But also worth noting that the federal department of Education also provides quite a bit of funding for disabled students.
Yes it is off topic but its worth remembering 95% of public schools qualify for Title 1 grants. If the grants go away local school districts will do without or increase taxes to make up the difference. The ruling class send their kids to private schools so no problem for them. Elon’s father sent him to private school in a Rolls Royce every day according to what Errol Musk said.
From what I have read, USAID started out as just that, AID. But following the tradition of “what’s worth doing well is worth overdoing”, we read examples of US tax dollars being spent on “projects” that sound too unreal to be true. I believe I have already mentioned $20 million for an “Iraqi Sesame Street”. And supposedly, a lot of programs using the term “LGBTQ”. Part of the problem, when you have programs like these, all the programs tend to get “tarred with the same brush”. Nuff said. Now fire away.
“Alaska receive the most federal funding per pupil, followed by North Dakota. Conversely, Utah and Kansas receive the least federal funding per pupil. Wealthier states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut receive the least federal funding per pupil, often below $2,500.”
Which again is why I advocate certain government departments and agencies to be abolished on the federal level and reconstituted on a new league-level within the Union. Two main leagues, one of Blue states, one of Red.
The Blue League would no doubt have a department of Education. The Red league would decide for themselves what they want. Money for education from each league’s states would stay in that league. Less squabbling between the states on that issue.
