For the life of me, I can’t understand why the WIC model (coupons for specific foods, in specific quantities) has not been adopted across the welfare system. The gov’t seems so gung-ho to tell the rest of us what we should eat, so why not do some “nutritional planning” for people who eat on the taxpayer’s dime?
You just aren't cynical enough, that's all.
The driving force behind the never ending expansion of the program is the vast array of commodity groups and companies that benefit from increased sales of their products. Food stamp advocates get the most broad-based support for expanding the program by including pretty much anything edible as long as it's not alcohol.
Or to put it another way, an army of lobbyists working in unison is better than just three or four or them.
A friend was in a grocery store behind a WIC “client.” Big mistake. The WIC transactions take forever, because every single thing in the basket is evaluated individually by a program that works off the bar code of the item.
The woman was buying a loaf of bread that was rejected by the program. The clerk went back and got the “right” loaf of bread...and it cost a lot more than the one the WIC recipient had picked in the first place!
That’s government nutritional planning for you. Personally, I think we should go back to the old surplus food program.
What people got was food. It was all nutritionally good stuff if not wildly attractive (canned meat, butter, processed cheese, powdered eggs, cornmeal, flour, beans, powdered milk, canned veggies). They had to cook it themselves, and there were recipes available and even cooking classes that gave them suggestions. Or if they traded it to somebody else for something they wanted (that is, butter for fruit, for example), that was something they did on their own.
“so why not do some “nutritional planning” for people who eat on the taxpayer’s dime?”
It bugs the hell out of me to see these families of 3-400 pounders in the store, knowing it is my tax dollars at work
About 35 years ago, my wife and I were foster parents, to mostly 9 year olds and under. W.I.C. started delivering groceries to our door, even though we told them that we didn't need it, mostly milk, cereal, cheese, peanut butter, rice, etc. It was all quality stuff, especially the cheese and peanut butter were quite tasty.