I was reading an article today about the rising cost of food in the U.S. Well, duh. But I guess the fundamentals of economics are considered newsworthy to people who know nothing about them.
In any event, the article took a typically liberal turn and started lamenting about the U.S. "poor" and how the sharp increase in price for many grocery items is really taking a toll on them. People making twice the minimum wage were trying to figure how they would ever manage to save even an extra $5 a week to compensate.
If you can't figure out how to save an extra five bucks a week, regardless of your income, then congratulations. You've just discovered the reason why you are not and never will be a millionaire: You are an idiot.
Anyway, the best part of this article was to come. I had to read it twice to really comprehend that this was being stated in all seriousness.
Proposals to save that five dollars a week? The following:
"For some, that means adding an extra cup of water to their soup, watering down their milk, or giving their children soda because it's cheaper than milk."
If this sentence doesn't give you a half dozen reasons to grind your teeth in rage and disbelief at the prevailing stupidity of Americans, you are probably also still sitting there trying to figure out how to save an extra five bucks a week.
1. Milk. What is with Americans and drinking milk? Can we please just get over it already? The fact that most of the world's population is lactose intolerant should sufficiently indicate that milk is NOT essential to the human diet. Not drinking milk is not a humanitarian crisis; not being able to afford milk simply means that you stop drinking milk. Unless you are a breastfeeding infant, there are myriad alternatives. Which brings me to this:
giving their children soda because it's cheaper than milk
Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me. Are these the same people who claim to live in poverty while watching cable television on their flatscreens?
It's called WATER. You ungrateful bastards live in country that has plenty of it available, and it's both sanitary and cheap. Your kids don't like to drink it? See how much they enjoy being thirsty.
Giving kids soda because you can't afford milk is like giving them crack cocaine because you can't afford tylenol.
And last time I checked, a bottle of soda costs more money than turning on the tap at the kitchen sink. But, of course, I'm just being too analytical about all of this. These people are in this terrible milk versus soda dilemma because of institional socio-economic injustice.
How could I ever think otherwise?