Posted on 02/16/2025 2:25:54 AM PST by Libloather
WASHINGTON — Americans on food stamps may be banned from using them to buy “sugary drinks” and other junk food, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday.
The newly appointed cabinet official said she will work with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — to prioritize food-stamp benefits for healthy food items.
“Will we ever take food out of a hungry child’s mouth? Of course not, this is the United States of America, Rollins told reporters on the White House driveway.
“Truly, this program has grown so large, especially in the last administration. Under Biden, I think [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] grew almost 30% more than before. We really need to look at where that money is going, what it’s being spent on,” she said.
“I look forward to working with Bobby Kennedy as we figure out, ‘Do we have the healthiest choices?’ So when a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are we OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?”
Rollins and Kennedy were both confirmed by the Senate Thursday and will serve on President Trump’s new 13-member Make America Healthy Again commission.
In fiscal 2023, 42.1 million people received SNAP benefits, according to USDA.
The program’s cost was $112.8 billion annually, with benefits averaging $211.93 per month.
It’s unclear how the plan might work, though the idea already is under consideration in Congress.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
It used to be that way back in the food stamps days. But then it changed.
They should also immediately discontinue EBT card acceptance at fast food joints.
Hey if food stamps won’t get you beer what’re they good for?
“We really need to look at where that money is going, what it’s being spent”
An investigation into food stamp fraud could yield big savings. There’s a black market in food stamps traded for booze and drugs.
This is an example showing how “all they want is control” is a bad argument in discussing public policy.
There is always “control” in a civil society. It is called, for starters, “self-control,” and that is an essential aim of the most basic legislation.
We can argue about the manner and degree of control and who wields power to instill, monitor, and administer consequences, but word “control” is just a blunt semantic cudgel that only instills both misunderstanding and lack of discernment, and then street fights.
“They should also immediately discontinue EBT card acceptance at fast food joints.”
Absolutely, #1.
Years ago I was talking to a State Senator from Tennessee and he was telling me that for awhile they were allowing EBT to be used in strip clubs. They actually had to pass a special law against it.
https://www.tn.gov/humanservices/for-families/families-first-tanf/ebt-cards.html
We really need to look at where that money is going, what it’s being spent”
An investigation into food stamp fraud could yield big savings. There’s a black market in food stamps traded for booze and drugs.
OK. You think we need to track where the money goes. Right I agree but not at the buyers level. The teller, to not sell a bottle of wine, a loaf of French bread, and some pasta to an old lady with food stamps is ludicrous. Stop the fraud at who the hell is getting them in the first place. IMO
That’s INSANE.
But honestly, giving away stamps for years and years and years is ALWAYS insane.
My dearly departed pop pass in 1980...but he had his first stroke 15 years earlier.
We were on food stamps and welfare for about the 2 years it took for mom to get a nursing degree and a job.
She told me she used to shot in the middle of the night so no one could see her using food stamps because she was so embarassed.
That’s a little extreme but imagine if they were only given out for a limited time and in Extremely needful situations...then we would all know that the person using them really must need them and it wouldn’t be embarassing to use them.
Not that anyone is embarassed anymore.
That generation is gone.
Mom was a nurse for 25 years and is 92.
I was 14 when pop died and she was was 50...she had already been a nurse for over 10 years.
She was/is tough.
Will we ever take food out of a hungry child’s mouth? Of course not, this is the United States of America
__________________
I would not be that sure.
If we keep spending like drunken sailors, US will eventually go bankrupt.
Then, the hungry children will have nothing!
Maybe people of Uganda will chip in for US hungry children. 😩
They don’t have “stamps” anymore like cash currency, used to but now it is put on a debt card with a PIN so it is harder to do that. But they can buy groceries for someone else at a huge discount in exchange for cash to buy booze and drugs.
Good for your mother.
Far to many people see it as a way of life.
I still do not quite understand the concept of taking my money to feed people who often hate me and my family. When I have grandkids I’d rather give it to.
I say limit the program to truly desperate people, like elderly, young children and disabled/sick. And if they commit serious crimes let them go.
And this was the first video hit I got…”deeegusting” and there are many like this:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1530766020372195
“ An investigation into food stamp fraud could yield big savings. There’s a black market in food stamps traded for booze and drugs.”
Or even just for cash, where a SNAP recipient does grocery shopping for someone else, pays with SNAP, and keeps the cash.
Detroit party store owners used to buy the foods stamps from customers for pennies on the dollar so the customers could use the cash to purchase booze and cigarettes and probably drugs.
YES!
What a great idea! Thats how it used to be.
They can still buy that stuff—just not with the donations from taxpayers.
Part of the problem is that the government policies are designed to KEEP them dependent on hand outs. You get temporary help because you really need it until you can get some work. But as soon as you get some work they immediately cut you off all financial assistance. This send you right back into the gutter and you can’t even afford to buy gas to get to work anymore. So you have to fall right back onto the system again.
The system would actually be more productive and save more taxpayer money in the long run if they didn’t cut them off right away, give them the extra for a couple months as booster to help them truly get ahead of the game and stay ahead of the game so that they don’t have to fall right back on the system again. It would actually be a wise investment up front that saves much more in the long run.
But see this is not the agenda. They really do not want folks financially independent, they want them dependent on the system so they can own them. This is what the infamous Cloward/Piven strategy is all about. It is a normal policy of Communism for the state to own the people by keeping them dependent on the state. Many policies are geared in that direction.
Another one is free medical. They will cover everything but dental unless it is an absolute life threatening situation such as fatal heart problems or gastrointestinal issues caused by bad teeth, it happens a lot... But if they did invest in dental up front it would make them healthier overall and prevent much more expensive health problems later. The dental is much much cheaper to pay for up front than the resulting severe issues that come from bad dental health later.
But the government never works on logic... It is all or none period, off or on. No common sense compromises that would actually save much more in the long run. So the main problem is government policy and how they handle the system incorrectly which causes a perpetual problem.
And maybe doing some public service work, while they look for an actual job. Exceptions would be those certified as physically disabled and cannot work.
Can a ni@@a get a table dance
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.