Jeb! will appear at an anti-poverty forum in South Carolina this weekend where he will unveil his plan to fight poverty by eliminating anti-poverty programs.
Really.
Bush would end the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, generally known as food stamps, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. Instead, state governments would be able to apply for new federal "Right to Rise" grants to pay for programs launched to assist lower-income residents.
"I know that giving states more flexibility will open the door for transformative ideas to eliminate poverty and increase opportunity," Bush wrote in a document outlining his plan released Friday morning.
Food stamps are the most effective anti-poverty and stimulative program we have in America so, naturally, Jeb! wants to end it.
Giving states more "flexibility" doesn't actually increase opportunity or alleviate poverty; it exacerbates it. Republican-controlled states use the flexibility they were granted in the 1990s to cut corners and cut people off assistance. If there are any "transformative ideas" in the pipeline, we haven't seen them yet in the 20 years since Very Serious People in Washington decided new ideas and "flexibility" would save us.
Replacing our often inadequate system with block grants would further impoverish poor residents of states where lawmakers will use that money to plugs holes in the state budget or pass another tax cut. Some states may even choose not to apply for Jeb's "Right to Rise" grants, leaving large swaths of people with no opportunities for assistance whatsoever.
I've enjoyed many laughs at Jeb's expense, but this isn't funny. It's desperate.
Fellow fake poverty warrior Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) will also speak at the anti-poverty forum where he will also call for eliminating anti-poverty programs.