funding has run dry
Sep
22
2025
The cartoon depicts a Western North Carolina resident standing with a broom and dustpan before a towering heap of storm wreckage on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene. Text notes the brief pause to mark the date. The image contrasts the single figure's small cleanup effort with the overwhelming volume of debris, highlighting the slow pace of recovery and the limits of available resources one year after the September 2024 storm.
The cartoon shows a large bird wearing an Uncle Sam hat placing dollar bills into the beak of a smaller bird nestled with military hardware. This imagery addresses the ongoing federal budget debate where defense allocations increase while funding for social programs such as SNAP, school lunches, and healthcare faces reductions. The work responds to recent policy discussions involving figures like Pete Hegseth and Kristi Noem on immigration enforcement and military matters. It underscores tensions between national security spending and domestic welfare needs as of the September 2025 publication date.
