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Friday, October 15. 2010

The food stamp culture

At American Thinker, America's Food Stamp Culture. One quote:



Nationwide, 6 percent of food stamp benefits are spent on sugary beverages, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program.


and


...despite food stamps and myriad other social programs created by big-spending liberals, poor Americans are more unhealthy than ever -- overweight and even obese, and suffering high levels of diabetes. Contrary to what Harrington argued, poor Americans are unhealthy because of their personal choices and lifestyles. It's likely that many are poor for the same reasons.


True. Furthermore, poverty is by no means the worst thing in life - especially when it is by choice. For one example, the hippie goat farmer down my road. For another, the fourth-generation dairy farmer down our road who still puts his cattle out on grass. Trust me - these skinny folks do not take food stamps even though they could qualify.
Posted by The Barrister at 16:59 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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If the government is giving you money, it also gives the government the power to control how you spend that money. Given that, banning "sugar sweetened drinks" isn't beyond the scope of government intrusion.

WIC is a program that supplies families with specific foods to fulfill a need, for ex: milk, cheese, iron-fortified cereals, protein. If food stamps could be restructured in a way that people are given are choice of foods and then a smaller amount of dollars to use for personal choices, I would endorse it. However, I'll also admit it's almost an utopian idea, way too complicated to be implemented.
#1 molloaggie on 2010-10-15 21:23 (Reply)
People using food stamps often buy items that I cannot justify buying.

No one in this country should go hungry, but I should not have to pay for them to buy premium or junk foods.

I remember a time when there were government sites that you could go in and get blocks of cheese, powdered milk and other food basics so that a family would not go hungry. Cannot remember what the program was, but I am o.k. with that type of help, though sure as heck not what it is today.
#2 Ron Snyder on 2010-10-15 21:57 (Reply)
If you are paying for the meal, you should have some input into what is purchased for the meal , especially when you see some bad choices. And the government is paying for the meal.

One can eat nutritiously and inexpensively in this country. A good cook can produce tasty and nutritious meals with dried beans, whole wheat flour, eggs, milk, fruit , vegetables, and some meat. With a bread machine that you can purchase for $10-$20 at a yard sale, you can have your own bread at minimal cost and time. [BTW, powdered milk today is often more expensive than fresh milk, while it used to be about half the price of fresh milk.]

I very seldom purchase carbonated soft drinks. The wake-up call for me was when a co-worker on a drilling rig in the jungle said that on the previous 4-week hitch he had gained 10 pounds from imbibing soft drinks. In the heat, you do need to drink something to keep hydrated, but better to stick to water. The caffeine in soft drinks is good for keeping awake when driving long hours.

Ron, I remember that program. It used USDA surplus food, IIRC.
#3 Gringo on 2010-10-15 22:35 (Reply)
Gringo ... I've never been much of a drinker of soft drinks, but about 20 years ago I decided that when I did drink them, they didn't slake my thirst. At that point, I began to take some meds which gave me vertigo, although they did help the high blood pressure. So I switched from an evening drink to an evening drink of water. Strangely enough, I soon began to enjoy it more and more. And as a 'side effect' I became less dizzy and didn't fall down. Gradually, my husband became converted to cool water as our evening drink. We remembered that George Burns [who lived to a great age] said that old folks wouldn't live to a great age unless they pretty much gave up alcoholic drinks.

So we decided to try it, and we've stuck with it [one drink in a great while] and now we're living to a great age.

So I guess you could say it works. But don't tell Mr. Obama. He thinks we should die quickly.

Marianne
#4 Marianne Matthews on 2010-10-15 23:13 (Reply)
The main problem is that "poverty" has been redefined to mean not being able to buy a new 50" plasma television every year and not being able to afford a $50K car whenever GM produces a new model.
If you're also not able to make that 3 week trip to Europe or Australia at least twice a year you're in very dire straits indeed.
#5 J.T. Wenting on 2010-10-16 00:25 (Reply)
I sometimes see the food stamps (now a debit card, to prevent the 'embarassment' of using food stamps) used to buy the staples of life, Pespi, Cheetos and Frosted Flakes, and then a roll of twentys gets pulled out to pay for the smokes and beer as a separate transaction. I know I will be paying for the schmucks for the rest of my life. As I plow a decent percentage of my current income into retirement acccounts, and tighten my current spending, I have no doubt means testing of Social Security will reduce (eliminate?) my future benefit, in 20 years, to preserve theirs. Ants and Grasshoppers. The poor will be with us always.
#6 DMac on 2010-10-16 07:40 (Reply)

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