Let them eat cake: Supreme Court on SNAP
The starving plebians can wait, the justices must have time to ponder the legalities
Supreme Court puts the brakes on resuming SNAP payments
Judicial action as 42 million Americans go without food assistance
Billionaires revolt, express hurt at lack of gratitude from voters
John Catsimatidis, supermarket owner (Wikipedia photo)
The Supreme Court on Friday came down squarely on the side of endless fiddling while 42 million Americans go without the SNAP food aid that a lower court had ordered on Thursday.
Without reciting all of the Latinate nomenclature, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued what is called and administrative stay, meaning that the federal government does not have to immediately comply with a ruling issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island.
McConnell had directed the Trump administration to fully fund benefits for November under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, by Friday.
The government had earlier agreed to use $4.65 billion in contingency funds to make partial payments, but declined to use other funding to make up the shortfall.
Billionaires growing restless
By its action, the Supreme Court perhaps has smoothed salve onto the seeping sores on the backsides of the nation’s billionaires, who are disheartened and, frankly, discouraged by the disrespect shown them by the American people over the last few months.
First it was the riotous street charades staged in Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other war-torn cities, then it was the mock horror expressed after the long-overdue renovation of the downtrodden East Wing of the White House.
But perhaps most of all, it was the callous disregard and lack of gratitude shown by voters who elected Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani and his running dogs Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill, who have vowed to destroy capitalism as we know it, substituting food co-ops, preschool, child care programs, improved public transportation and other sops to the poor.
Nowhere to turn, Catsimatidis laments
No one has felt this more than Big Apple billionaire John Catsimatidis, whose network of neighborhood markets is the obvious targets of the plot hatched by Mamdani and his minions, who have vowed to erect government-run, non-profit groceries — co-ops, in other words — in each borough of NYC.
Prior to Mamdani’s election, Catsimatidis held a press conference with bodega owners and pledged to shut down his more than 30 stores if Mamdani won. “He’s not qualified... this is silly,” he said on FOX News, comparing Mamdani to Fidel Castro. “It’s one big con game.”
Although Catsimatidis holds a low opinion of food co-ops, they’re not exactly rare. There are more than 60 food co-ops in New England and New York State, owned by more than 290,000 members. They employ more than 3,000 people and generate annual revenue of more than $625 million, according to the Neighboring Food Co-op Association (NFCA). California also has a number of active food co-ops, including several full-service supermarkets.
For solace, Catsimatidis turned to President Trump who backed him up, Forbes reported: “[Mamdani] actually wants to take over the grocery stores of John Catsimatidis, who’s a great guy, a rich guy,” Trump said.
“[Catsimatidis] actually called me the other day, he’s concerned his stores are going to be taken from him, and they won’t be run like John runs them, believe me, he runs a good operation,” Trump said. Besides his full-service groceries Gristedes and D’Agostino, Catsimatidis runs convenience stores, an oil refinery, gas stations and various other ventures.
Before the election, Catsimatidis had threatened to move his headquarters to New Jersey if an ungrateful populace elected Mamdani. After learning that Mikie Sherrill had won the New Jersey governor’s race by a wide margin, Catsimatidis was quoted as sayiing he might move to Florida instead.
He didn’t say whether he would take his stores with him.