There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, Robert Heinlein observed. But that’s not stopping New York City politicians from trying to convince taxpayers there is such a thing as free breakfast. (“There is!” exclaims the Daily News, whose editors apparently never took Econ 101.) Fortunately, the kids of New York aren’t biting:
Despite city efforts to boost participation, the city has the second-worst rate of 23 large cities in the federally funded program, according to a national report out yesterday…
“While it is always a sad day when we lose to Boston in baseball, it is truly heartbreaking when we lose to them and 20 other cities in feeding our children,” said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
Ah yes, how sad that we have fewer kids dipping their hands into the taxpayers’ pockets. I could have sworn it was only a decade ago that we were actually trying to reduce welfare dependency, not increase it. And “free” lunch is nothing if not another welfare program. The bleeding-hearts (in both the Democratic and Republican wings of the ruling Socialist Party) pull this same hand-wringing crap with their “free” child healthcare plan that “not enough” kids sign up for.
City Councilwoman Christine Quinn said the report “serves as a strong reminder that more must be done.”
Maybe Quinn and Bloomberg can start going door-to-door in the morning and serve the little tikes breakfast in bed. At least it will keep them out of City Hall where they keep cooking up these hare-brained schemes.