?

In the good ol' days, the Pope coronated kings and emperors. And they were truly glorious kingdoms and empires!

Look at what happened to England when they stopped having the Pope coronate their monarchs. Now, it's nothing but a bunch of chippie shops, bad cardigans and tiny automobiles. How the mighty have fallen!

It should be a cautionary tale for any truly great country that they need to have the official seal of approval on their rulers, if they want to be successful.

If America's fortunes are sagging, wouldn't it perhaps recapture some of that former glory day magic if the Pope had to approve of and swear in the President?

It seems to me that the original intent of the food bank was to provide temporary emergency food to people and families in distress - a loss of employment, a woman escaping an abusive relationship, an illness or other calamity - in a short term fashion until stability was once again achieved.

However, I have heard the fastest growing group of users are the "working poor"; people who earn too little to meet their basic needs, and routinely rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families. Paradoxically, most work for corporations that have been reporting huge profits since their bailouts in 2009, and are paying their executives exhorbitent compensations.

So, why are food banks subsidizing the wealthy? Why should I give to my community food bank, just so some greedy, rapacious, insatible CEO can get even more by paying the very ones who built the value of the business even less?

Take the case of my brother. Recently he was laid off his $70K job, and the only ones available pay about $12/hr - and no more than 35 hrs/week. He has 3 kids, a house he's been in for more than 10 years, not much in savings but no real debt aside from the mortgage. $420/week is not going to cut it, yet one prospective employer actually told him to use the food bank - most staff do! And this S-O-B drives an Escalade.

It seems to me that the original intent of the food bank was to provide temporary emergency food to people and families in distress - a loss of employment, a woman escaping an abusive relationship, an illness or other calamity - in a short term fashion until stability was once again achieved.

However, I have heard the fastest growing group of users are the "working poor"; people who earn too little tomeet their basic needs. Paradoxically, most work for corporations that have been reporting huge profits since their bailouts in 2009, and are paying their executives exhorbitent compensations.

So, why are food banks subsidizing the wealthy? Why should I give to my community food bank, just so some greedy, rapacious, insatible CEO can get even more by paying the very ones who built the value of the business even less?

Take the case of my brother. Recently he was laid off his $70K job, and the only ones available pay about $12/hr - and no more than 35 hrs/week. He has 3 kids, a house he's been in for more than 10 years, not much in savings but no real debt aside from the mortgage. $420/week is not going to cut it, yet one prospective employer actually told him to use the food bank - most staff do! And this S-O-B drives an Escalade.