Back in the late 80’s I, like many others of my generation, tried doing standup comedy as a profession. I spent 5 years on the road telling jokes in what seemed like every town in America. I had the occasional gig in places like Vegas, or Houston. But the majority of time I was paying my dues in towns like Eufalia, Alabama and Peabody, Kansas. (Yes, those are real towns.)

As you can imagine those small-town gigs didn’t pay a lot of money. And the money was really stretched if I didn’t have any shows booked for a week or two after that. If I wanted to eat, I had to be creative to get the most out of my food budget.

Back then Wendy’s had a taco bar where, for five dollars, you could enjoy all you could eat tacos and the soup of the day. I would go to there in the afternoon and have one big meal for 5 bucks to tide me over for the day. That would be about 13.88 in today’s money.

 I tell you this story to let you know that I know what it’s like to not have the money to put food on the table. And I was a single man. I could take care of myself. But I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did if I had hungry children to feed.

 Fortunately, things turned out alright for me in the long run, but there were a number of years when I was living hand to mouth.

I wonder if Governor Pillen ever had a time like that in his life. A time when he wasn’t sure if he could afford his next meal. Because if he hasn’t, he wouldn’t understand the impact of what an extra $150 dollars a month could do so a child doesn’t go hungry in the summer months when there are no free or reduced-price meals at school.

 As I’m sure you have heard by now, Governor Pillen has rejected a federal program that would give Nebraska 18 million dollars to be put on EBT cards for those who qualify. Governor Pillen claims that there are other programs already in place to help those children, and that the pandemic is over and therefore we don’t need pandemic related relief money anymore.

I wish I could believe him, but Governor Pillen isn’t known for being very transparent or backing up his decisions with facts.

I do believe the Federal Government spends too much and if the other programs available are adequate to fill the need, rejecting this money is the right thing to do. Even though $18 million is chump change when it comes to government spending, it does add to our national debt. In these hyper partisan times, even though I can’t prove it, my gut tells me that if this money was proposed by a Republican administration, Governor Pillen would gladly take it and give his patented stump speech about how children are our future. 

And while he states the obvious that children are indeed our future, hungry children are not Republicans or Democrats. They are just hungry.

This $18 million would have helped feed those children, but it wouldn’t have totally fixed the problem either. If we don’t want our government to use our tax dollars to help, it’s up to us to do our part. But in 2023 fewer people did their part.

According to Forbes magazine and the Indiana University Lilly Family Foundation School of Philanthropy, charitable giving was down last year by 10.5% when adjusted for inflation. Giving by individuals was down by 6.4% and by corporations it fell by 3.4%.

A lot of charitable giving happens during the Holidays. But those in need are with us all year round.

As we venture into 2024 let’s remember that there are a lot of great charities that can use our help. Find a couple of them that speak to you and give them a hand. The Omaha Food Bank is one that helps deal with hunger. I hope you’ll consider them. After all, Wendy’s doesn’t have the five dollar all-you-can-eat taco bar anymore.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.