Some have maintained that it was racist for Senator Tom Coburn to suggest that President Obama wants to "create dependency" on government because he obtained a "tremendous benefit" from governmental programs as an African-American man.
Poppycock.
Everyone knows Big Government loves nothing more than to dole out dollars to Black guys who -- all over the country and in numbers that are not to be believed -- are enjoying a myriad of benefits (tremendous benefits, even!) on Uncle Sam's dime. In fact, rather than being offended by the senator's comments, perhaps African-American men should rejoice in his rejection of this type of nanny-state underwriting; given the senator's abhorrence of federal money and his implications about where so much of it goes, many of those lucky beneficiaries of Big Government's largesse may be in line for a big windfall.
According to an article by Randy Krehbiel in Tulsa World, the federal government spent $24.1 billion in Oklahoma in 2010, presumably not all of it on African-American men (who last I heard were not threatening to overrun the state). In fact, according to that same article, the federal government spends almost three times as much in Oklahoma as the state generates in taxes, fees and other revenues. I assume Senator Coburn will promptly see to it that those excess federal dollars are promptly refunded (whereupon it is a virtual certainty that Big Government will redirect those funds to the African-American Men With (Tremendous) Benefits for whom it always has sought to do so much.)
This isn't racism; this is early Christmas (or Kwanzaa, if you prefer). What on earth is the problem?
(Although Senator Coburn, we would ask that you please make sure the checks don't bounce.)
For more on how much Big Government is doing in Oklahoma, check out Randy Krehbiel's excellent article, "Federal funding impact runs deep in Oklahoma," here: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=336&articleid=20110724_16_A17_Tulsas71261
Follow Tanya M. Acker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tanyaacker
See: http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn33.html