Papai Noel

  In a post from the Think Progress blog which quoted an AP release, I noticed that Congress in burst of Christmas cheer and patriotic concern for America’s fighting forces’ families has decided to cut the subsidy for low income families’ heating oil. And they say that Ebenezer Scrooge  was cold hearted.

Congress reached a deal Thursday to avert a shutdown that would have begun at midnight tonight, and in doing so, Republicans found another low-income program to target, cutting funding for subsidies that help the poor stay warm during the winter by nearly 25 percent. At the same time, however, the Pentagon’s budget is getting a 1 percent boost, as the Associated Press noted...

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has become increasingly vital for American families affected by the recession, and it is utilized more and more by military families. One of every five families using LIHEAP is a military family, a 156 percent increase from 2008. Congress, however, decided to cut that program to give a boost to a (defence)budget that already makes up 20 percent of the country’s total budget and has been spared in multiple spending agreements this year (the super committee trigger a notable exception).

  Fortunately Hugo Chavez, the infamous president of the República Bolivariana de Venezuela, in his sixth annual incarnation as Papia Noel or Santa Claus, is delivering millions of tons of low cost heating oil to the poor in America this year contrary to popular mass media who have stated that Chavez terminated the program to make the situation more difficult for Obama. At least Congress is ready for Christmas since they have lots of loot for all the heating oil that they need.

Source:LiveScience