A common online gag about the US's Reality-Denying Political Party asks: "What are we outraged about today?"
In the past, it's been less sexy M&Ms, Minnie Mouse's pantsuit, a bisexual Superman, Big Bird'd vaccination, and Lola Bunny's breast reduction. You know, the issues that matter most to working class Americans. . . . The latest fictional danger to the republic: Baby formula.
Republicans' "pro-life" pivot: GOP suddenly outraged by baby formula shortage
Jon Skolnik, Salon, May 11, 2022
When it comes to the issue of abortion, "pro-life" Republicans have always been bedeviled by accusations of blatant hypocrisy. After all, the party routinely shuts down political efforts – like the child tax credit, universal school lunches, and tax-payer-supported childcare – that would make child-rearing much easier for the vast majority of Americans. But now, with the Supreme Court on the precipice of overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling enshrining America's constitutional right to abortion, Republicans have identified a new opportunity to signal their self-professed "pro-life" status: baby formula shortages.
As USA Today recently reported, nearly 40% of all popular baby food brands have been out-of-stock since late April. Stores like Target and CVS have reportedly already begun limiting customers to two formula purchases to prevent panic buying. In states like Texas, Tennessee, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri, shortages have reached as high as 50% in recent weeks, according to CNN, which cited data from DataAssembly</a>.
The shortage appears to have its roots in the COVID-19-induced supply chain crisis as well as a recent product recall by Abbott Nutrition, one of the largest manufacturers of baby food in America. That recall, according to The Guardian, has had a disproportionately negative impact on low-income families, largely because Abott was the exclusive formula provider for over half of the federal agencies administering a special supplemental nutrition program for infants and children (WIC).
And so, the Seditionists are pretending to be concerned about "baby formula" and "poor moms and kids". In addition to supporting the anti-family actions mentioned above, many of these same Biden-blaming lawmakers opposed expanding Biden's child tax credit and lifting millions of US children out of poverty. (A similar thing happened in March, as this headline makes clear: "More than two dozen Senate Republicans demand Biden do more for Ukraine after voting against $13.6 billion for Ukraine".)
More Salon:
After Republicans blocked the child tax credit, child poverty soared by 41%, according to a study by Columbia University's Center on Poverty and Social Policy. That was after the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned in December that "an estimated 9.9 million children are at risk of slipping back below the poverty line or deeper into poverty if the expansion is not extended."
And while Republicans have argued that their anti-abortion agenda is "pro-life," the evidence does not bear that claim to be true.
Brookings found that low-income women are five times more likely than their affluent counterparts to experience an unintended pregnancy, which has been known to limit their occupational and personal agency. Unplanned pregnancy, Brookings wrote back in 2016, "is associated with higher rates of poverty, less family stability, and worse outcomes for children."
On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that numerous research studies make clear that "denying women access to abortion increases their odds of living in poverty or need for public assistance".
The performative outrage and theatrical concern from the far-right is pure horseshit. Everything these people do, rather than what they say (or tweet), shows they don't give a single shit about women or children.
The 2022 Republican Party pic.twitter.com/rG9CoQbOKV
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) May 10, 2022
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