Five Republican congressmen, including comical troglodyte Louie "Terror Babies" Gohmert, are seeking to bar workers who go on strike—and their families—from getting food stamps. Because why should the children of lousy strikers get food?

The provision is stuffed way down in a bill that purports to ensure compliance with eligibility requirements for food programs. We suppose the logic is that, if you give up a perfectly good job just to be a greedy dick and go on strike, you and your greedy children shouldn't be able to mitigate the loss in income with government money. Which is a genius idea that could be applied to so many circumstances: For instance, if you don't work hard enough and get fired from your job—fuck you! No food stamps. Work harder next time. Or if you waste money by hiring a lawyer to sue your employer for workplace violations—no food stamps for you! Why should the government subsidize your legal follies?

The fact that people need to eat can be a powerful motivator when it comes to convincing them not to challenge the circumstances of their work lives.

[Image of Depression-era family via the American Memory Project]