Posted on 08/31/2026 10:42:37 AM PDT by John Semmens
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla) announced that the state's use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program will be modified, saying "taxpayer-funded assistance should help families put food on the table, keep the lights on, purchase clothing, provide for their children and overcome barriers on the path toward independence. Tattoos and body piercings, theme park tickets, video games, vaping products, nicotine products, pornography, and psychic and fortune-telling services will no longer be funded, These new prohibitions will be added to our state's prior prohibitions of purchases of alcohol, adult entertainment businesses, casinos, and commercial bingo establishments and any other items that are not deemed basic needs."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-Fla) criticized what she labeled "a sweeping reassignment of poor people into second-class citizenship status. Just because a person can't support themselves through productive work doesn't mean he or she should be denied the same freedoms as those who can. Getting tattoos, going to theme parks, and smoking are activities that help make life worth living. Cutting welfare recipients off from these leisure expenditures is just plain unfair."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) cited DeSantis' action "as another reason why this country needs democratic socialism. Under socialism, the government provides each person with whatever he or she needs regardless of whether they are able to pay for it. As Karl Marx explained, in a just society each receives according to need. The funds to pay for everyone's needs come from requiring everyone who is able to produce wealth to fund those needs. Socialism is the fundamental transformation of America that former President Obama promised. Once the masses realize this Republican opposition to this new morality will be ended."
DeSantis pointed out that "Marx's formula has wrecked every government that has tried to implement it because it creates an incentive for individuals to assert needs while shirking the work needed to fulfill those needs. In a market system, the able can be compensated for the value of their contributions by consumers voluntarily paying what they think the products are worth. This inspires folks to work hard and smart at generating wealth. When socialists eliminate the profit motive, government coercion is the tool that replaces the profit motive. Coercion reduces freedom and discourages the most capable from fully utilizing their genius and talent--like we see has happened in socialist Cuba."
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Best governor in america. The country needs this kind of leadership.
SICK & TIRED OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES TREATING YOU LIKE THE PROVERBIAL MUSHROOM?
(KEPT IN THE DARK & COVERED WITH BS?)
HAS YOUR “REPRESENTATIVE” EVEN READ THE U.S.CONSTITUTION?
THE LINK BELOW WILL QUICKLY TAKE YOU INTO THE LIGHT:
https://freedomindex.us/
SHARE WIDELY IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN FREE!
Proud day to be a Floridian.
Help the sick and the needy, don’t enable the people that refuse to work.
Too bad we have 49 other twits that need to learn the lesson: People are PO’ed when they see welfare recipients wearing $200 basketball shoes.
I can’t believe these luxuries were ever allowed to begin with. What the h*ll?!
Nice. Got me at first.
About time. Nice job, Ron.
Should people on welfare have the franchise?
My mind is blown that these were ever funded, or even simply not prosecuted, in the first place
"essentials" for SNAP should be - rice, flour, beans, milk, eggs, raw sugar, butter, cooking oil, vegetables, and domestic fruit. that's the entire list.
The Governor appointed Balou (Phil Harris) as the official program spokesman.
Do they get to keep their Cadillacs?
Shove your fairness where the sun doesn't shine Marxists. What is unfair is making your working neighbor pay for that stuff for you when he can't even afford a rollercoaster ride for his own kids!
No. Why should the man for whom the government picks your pocket (at gunpoint) have a say in continuing to pick your pocket?
In fact, government, being a necessary evil and mostly inefficient, should be in the ‘charity’ business (which isn’t a power granted the federal government in the constitution) at all. That task should again be left to private charities for whom citizens voluntarily provide the funds to operate.
‘should be’ == ‘shouldn’t be’
Oh, my goodness - didn’t anybody get it?? This is satire, folks! SATIRE!
Oops, I didn’t see that link up above.
Guess this was real?
What a concept!
I was once in a communist country. If you wanted a wristwatch, there was only one kind, and everyone had the same watch.
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