Mark Small

Let’s skip over, for a moment, “cut spending” and “balance the budget,” as important as they are. Just what the hell does she mean by “reform welfare to empower, not suppress low income individuals”? That’s gibberish. 3/16

If she means we need to eliminate welfare for the very rich - e.g., tax cuts that only heaped MORE debt on the rest of us, or subsidies for pro sports owners and venture capitalists - then I would say: “Here! Here!” Of course she means: “There! There!” 4/16

She employs hollow phrases. A DCS person said she is “grateful to be given the opportunity to utilize my knowledge of child welfare to empower staff members...” WBIW, 9/30/19. Empowering DCS staff members doesn’t put food on poor people’s tables. 5/16

The Fresh Vision Group of Chicago wants to “create innovative programs and initiatives that utilize the arts, the technology scene, entrepreneurship and overall community welfare to empower the under represented people of Chicago.” 6/16

From their website I believe it is reasonable to infer they seek to empower people in ways that Ms. Spartz probably would find objectionable. I am pretty sure they would find a candidate who backs trump as anathema to their group’s goals. 7/16

That is a basic problem: trump’s programs oppress - and suppress as well - people who are poor. Ms Spartz likes those problems - she likes trump. 8/16

As precinct committee person for the part of Indy in which I live, I say let’s address the first part of her statement: “We must cut spending.” Bravo! The next few words - “reform welfare” - show her ignorance of the source of our national deficit. 9/16

Welfare is not the cause of our deficits. “The size of the national debt in the United States has almost always been a function of war, including the Cold War.” Prof. Thomas McCraw, Harvard Business School, “The American Scholar,” winter 1994, p. 50. 10/16

The groups of people who cannot live “within their means” are the defense establishment - not only military leaders, but also military contractors - and very rich people who suck up tax cuts. We have 37% of the World’s military budget. 11/16

And of course since trump has bungled the pandemic, we face an economic crisis that might soon surpass the Great Depression. But Ms. Spartz loves trump. Ads that she could afford with her big budget ripped opponents for not being trumpy enough. 12/16

Ms. Spartz is not a conservative. She also supports trump, who, after told that Russia put bounties on U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan, pushed for his pal Putin to be included in economic summits. 13/16

Maybe that’s okay to Ms. Spartz - because maybe Putin’s her pal, too. They speak the same language - literally. I shall not speculate as to whether Ms. Spartz has communicated with anyone from Russia about our budget deficits. 14/16

Once more: an aspect of Ms. Spartz’s campaign more repugnant than any other is her blind support for trump. I just found out there is a caucus of GOP precinct committee people on Monday. I had to find out by other than official means. 15/16