[vannrox]

Are you advocating that our Federal Government dictate the dietary selections of the population?

Or do you just want it to be dictatd by the State Govenment?

Food Stamp guidelines are much as you would think. The four basic food groups are certainly covered in depth. While there are abuses of the system, it is not the governments role to dictate to anyone what they can and cannot consume.

Personally, I have seen good times and hard times. There have been times when I have had to get some help from the government. I know that there have been onlookers who would say..."look at that fine strapping young man....he is just taking advantage of the system". But nothing could be further from the truth.

The bottom line is this...

Don't judge a person by the shoes he wears....
Walk a mile in his shoes and then think about his situation..

[babyface00]

it is not the governments role to dictate to anyone what they can and cannot consume.

Is that what the author is argueing? Or is it that the government can and should dictate what the benefit recipient can purchase? Or, more specifically, what they can purchase with taxpayer dollars.

[ampat]

NO. I don't want the govt dictating what people eat. If my money is being taken from me in the name of feeding poor people, then I want the say as to what poor people eat. No gum, no soda.

[Spiff]

Would it be right for someone to take money at gunpoint from their neighbors to pay for the groceries they cannot afford? How is it right to employ the government as their agent to take money at virtual gunpoint to pay for their groceries?

[Dr. Zzyzx]

Reader's Digest one time wrote that with the money the U.S. has spent on welfare, they could have purchased all the Fortune 500 companies and every acre of farm land in America. Don't know if it's true, but it sounds plausible.

I'm for giving the folks that need help bags of flour, beans and powdered milk. It'll keep 'em fed until they're back on their feet, but not be so enticing that they'd like to stay that on the dole.

[Bob J]

While there are abuses of the system, it is not the governments role to dictate to anyone what they can and cannot consume.

Unreal. The purpose of the food stamps system is to provide assistance to people who for some reason cannot feed themselves.

Would you approve of more money being taken out of your paycheck so people can buy cigarettes and booze?

[Neever]

Most of the folks that I've seen using food stamps have feet too bulbous and swollen because they are fat, so their shoes would be too big for me.

What we call 'poor' in the U.S. is absurd. Perhaps if these folks actually did learn to walk a mile in their own shoes, they would get some get up and go get a job.