It’s always easier to talk about “tightening belts” when yours is made of imported leather. During the shutdown, food assistance froze — but the catered luncheons went on. Some people worry about groceries; others worry about their next donor dinner’s wine pairing.
The New Aristocracy in Business Suits
Marie Antoinette never filed an expense report, but her spirit lives on in modern halls of power. Our elected elite dine on “fiscal responsibility” while the shelves at food pantries grow bare. They debate hunger from the comfort of full plates, assuring the nation that shared sacrifice tastes best when everyone else is fasting.
Government à la Mode
Shutdowns are the political version of a crash diet — imposed by those who never miss a meal. It’s ideology wrapped in pastry: looks principled, feels rich, and leaves everyone else hungry. There’s always funding for perks, offices, and optics, but never for the programs that actually keep families from skipping dinner.
Cake for the Few, Crumbs for the Many
In this modern Versailles, compassion is out of budget. While workers wait for back pay and children for school meals, speeches about “fiscal prudence” echo like the clinking of silver cutlery. Somewhere, an aide whispers, “Let them eat shutdown cake,” and the cameras roll.
History has a sweet tooth for irony — and this batch is baking nicely.