Bob Loblaw wrote:In my capacity as a heartless bastard, let me say that I would be in favor of changing the food-stamp program to be much like the WIC program, which specifies which foods and how much one can purchase. To me, this would ensure that people are fed a healthy diet, which is the purpose of the program.
You are a heartless bastard.
Seriously, though. Who would decide what is "healthy" and what is not? What about people with allergies?
I've heard complaints about things that are WIC approved but not as healthy as other non-approved alternatives.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
Seriously, though, food stamps should be to ensure that people are getting enough healthy food to eat. What I like about the WIC program is that it provides foods that benefit women and children in the program, such as milk, cheese, eggs, juice, beans, and cereal (my wife and I were on WIC back in our starving student days). We know what constitutes a healthy diet, and that's what we should be subsidizing.
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
Seriously, though. Who would decide what is "healthy" and what is not? What about people with allergies?
I've heard complaints about things that are WIC approved but not as healthy as other non-approved alternatives.
I would imagine that the government could provide enough options to meet every person's specific requirements, and we already have several federal departments that decide what is a healthy recommended diet. As for the WIC stuff, I have no idea, but when we were on it years ago you could buy name brands or generics of certain food items. The non-approved items were things like "juice cocktails" that had sugar in them. Maybe that's changed.
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
Seriously, though, food stamps should be to ensure that people are getting enough healthy food to eat. What I like about the WIC program is that it provides foods that benefit women and children in the program, such as milk, cheese, eggs, juice, beans, and cereal (my wife and I were on WIC back in our starving student days). We know what constitutes a healthy diet, and that's what we should be subsidizing.
It's not that I think it's a bad idea, but even school lunches are allowed to have a cookie or something. I mean, are we gonna tell people they can't buy a damn cake for their kid's birthday?
What about meat, fruit and vegetables? Or frozen meals or the rotisserie chicken from the deli?
I don't think that people in need should be required to cook completely from scratch or completely change their eating habits (children have a very hard time with that as it is). I also think people shouldn't be made to feel like they are being punished or thought to be stupid.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
they should not be allowed to buy junk food, alcohol or cigarettes.
HUNH???!! In some stores, caffeine-loaded energy drinks are not allowed. I have problems with people who buy jumbo shrimp with FS. Not exactly the best pound per dollar deal for meat.
Huckelberry said: I see the order and harmony to be the very image of God which smiles upon us each morning as we awake.
just me wrote:It's not that I think it's a bad idea, but even school lunches are allowed to have a cookie or something. I mean, are we gonna tell people they can't buy a damn cake for their kid's birthday?
What about meat, fruit and vegetables? Or frozen meals or the rotisserie chicken from the deli?
I don't think that people in need should be required to cook completely from scratch or completely change their eating habits (children have a very hard time with that as it is). I also think people shouldn't be made to feel like they are being punished or thought to be stupid.
I agree with you. I would, however, like to see that food stamps provide a balanced diet, and that would require guidelines and restrictions. I never felt punished or stupid when we used WIC, so I'm not sure how giving more specific purchasing power would amount to that.
Speaking of heartless bastards, I have a good friend who is a liberal Democrat, and she thinks we should just open school cafeterias to anyone who wants to eat there and do away with food stamps. She thinks that would feed more people who need it without the overhead. Food for that (no pun intended).
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
Bob Loblaw wrote: I agree with you. I would, however, like to see that food stamps provide a balanced diet, and that would require guidelines and restrictions. I never felt punished or stupid when we used WIC, so I'm not sure how giving more specific purchasing power would amount to that.
What would be interesting is if they could find away to limit non-healthy food purchases to a percentage (say 10%). Like you can still get a bag of chips and cake or a liter of soda, but that would be offset by the greater percentage being healthy stuff.
I dunno. Just a thought.
Speaking of heartless bastards, I have a good friend who is a liberal Democrat, and she thinks we should just open school cafeterias to anyone who wants to eat there and do away with food stamps. She thinks that would feed more people who need it without the overhead. Food for that (no pun intended).
That is heartless!
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
If the cost of living is so low in Montana, why don't people on welfare move there? Working people have to move where jobs are available. I'm sure a lot of us would like to live in California especially during the winter.
According to welfare people I talk to in my own state, they say everybody gets denied the first time you ask for food stamps. Then you just go back and apply again and most everyone gets them.
Is there any transparency in government that would tell who is eligible for food stamps and who is not? Neither myself nor my colleagues were eligible 6 or 7 years ago when I had only an $8/hr job. But most people I see working those jobs now are all on food stamps.
And when the confederates saw Jackson standing fearless as a stone wall the army of Northern Virginia took courage and drove the federal army off their land.
Conservatives will be happy to know that for the poorest of the poor elderly and the disabled, when a cost of living adjustment is made in Supplemental Security (SSI), there is an equal corresponding cut in food stamps. Thus the poor are adequately regulated and as of today, your Tea Party has not yet requested that these elderly and disabled people be deemed "useless eaters" and eliminated.
moksha wrote:Conservatives will be happy to know that for the poorest of the poor elderly and the disabled, when a cost of living adjustment is made in Supplemental Security (SSI), there is an equal corresponding cut in food stamps. Thus the poor are adequately regulated and as of today, your Tea Party has not yet requested that these elderly and disabled people be deemed "useless eaters" and eliminated.
I believe that when there is a cost of living adjustment that their rent also goes up accordingly.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
In some stores, caffeine-loaded energy drinks are not allowed. I have problems with people who buy jumbo shrimp with FS. Not exactly the best pound per dollar deal for meat.