Fund Preschool Education

If you follow Gail Collins in the New York Times Opinion page, then you, like me, enjoy good humor.  Today she talks about the importance of funding preschool education.  President Obama’s proposal is to pay for that with a tax on cigarettes.  Two good things done at once!  Decrease cigarette smoking, increase preschool education.

Some in the Senate are considering other funding mechanisms as well.  But I do like the idea of a cigarette tax.

Why do it?  Give the young children a boost up, get them ready for kindergarten, increase the stimulation that they get during the day, even improve the nutrition (if that is part of some programs).

Why not do it?  Protect the tobacco industry?  Puleeze!!!

Let me know what you think.  Is funding preschool education important to you?  Do you think we should do this?  What funding mechanisms do you think should be considered for funding preschool education?

Food Security in Peril.

This is a good day for news.  Not good news though.

Congress is debating the farm bill.  See Mark Bittman‘s Opinion Article in the New York Times today.  Also see the website Bread For the World: http://www.bread.org.

Hefty direct subsidy payments go to often large, wealthy agricultural companies, while the House of Representatives is proposing a 20 billion dollar cut in food stamps (now known as SNAP) for the poor.  This will add to food insecurity, poverty and hunger among the poor and especially for poor children (45%of Food Stamp recipients are children), while reassuring the wealthy companies.  This also continues the dangerous monoculture of commodity crops while under supporting family farms and increased growth of vegetables.

Write or call or email your representative if you are concerned about this.

Here is to good nutrition!

Related articles

• ‘Welfare for the Wealthy’ (economistsview.typepad.com)
• Krugman: ‘This Is A Time To Get Really, Really Angry’ (crooksandliars.com)
• Farm bill would limit assets of food stamp recipients (winonadailynews.com)