Posted on 05/14/2010 11:16:49 AM PDT by Tribune7
Congressman Collin Peterson, a moderate Democrat who represents the 7th District of Minnesota, wants to prohibit the 39 million monthly users of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-- which the federal Food Stamp Program has been called since Oct. 1, 2008 -- from using their electronic benefits transfer card from buying soft drinks with sugar.
The average American who reads that will say "Food Stamp recipients can buy Pepsi with my money?"
And the answer is of course, you silly person. Not only Pepsi and Coke and Gatorade but cocktail mixes, artificial sweetener, warm bread from the bakery, hoagies from the deli and stuffed olives from the salad bar.
Peterson suggestion is motivated more by concern about America's poor being too fat -- what a country as Yakov Smirnoff might say -- than a desire to encourage them to find jobs, but I'll walk this path with him.
(Excerpt) Read more at BillLawrenceOnline.Com ...
And they can just trade off with a friend which means the truth of the matter is the government doesn't know what you're really doing with your food stamps.
Of course he is a Democrat… diet (read bio-organic) defined okay, organic processed not.
If Collin Peterson, has not noticed, those that wish to stay fat drink diet-soda; there is plenty of empirical data alone to show diet-drinks promote obesity.
It should be all soda and add in all foods under a certain nutritional value or high in sodium. Remember Michelle is watching!
and steak...
dont forget the T-Bones..
This varies from state-to-state as the food stamp program is federal, but administered by the individual states. Louisiana already prohibits many things from purchase with food stamps.
Please don't suggest that the country can't handle budget problems caused by misuse of a plastic card while there is unemployment and oil in the gulf. We have enough bureaucrats to handle many problems, if they would only do their jobs in the best interest of the country.
Don’t forget moonpies and pork rinds and chips!
And if he really wants to help the poor stay healthy I'll prod him to quicken his pace. How about we restrict purchases via SNAP to milk, butter, eggs, cooking oils, fresh fruit and veggies, bulk grains and beans, and locally produced honey. Note, I'm saying fresh fruit and veggies not canned or frozen. This will help keep them from getting into a rut.
I'm including honey because deep down inside I'm a bit of a bleeding heart and I feel that this will give the SNAP participants a chance to play-pretend they are on the Food Network's Chopped show.
And why do I have this strange feeling that most SNAP participants have access to cable television?
Give ‘em a bag of flour, a bag of beans, a bag of powdered milk, and say, “Enjoy it. See you next month.”
I have been told that prior to the food stamp programs the government run a food bank of sorts. You could go and be given dried beans potatoes etc depending on how many in the family. We honestly should go back to that. No choice in foods excet for those allergic who would get an alternative to the offending food. No convience foods only the stuff you cook yourself. They could also give them a paper back cookbook on how to use what was given to get through a month. Make your own bread and noodles saves a lot of money and tastes much better.
Yes they can do that herer...
Its a debit card with so much money on it...
They can just swipe the card and take the money off it...
Hello, beer, cigarettes, porn mags, drugs..
What I want to know is, if they are getting enough food stamps to buy pop, they are getting to much. I just remember barley making it to the end of the month. The last week was always hard and I didn't eat a lot and didn't buy expensive items. Seems like I always ran out of food a few days before. Had to rely on family and once even raided someone's garden. :( I felt terrible about that, I had absolutely no food. Worst feeling in the world, no money and no food.
well it was the steaks they were buying when I could hardly afford to feed my kids hamburger on my just a bit too much to get food stamps wages...
Now I stand behind illegal aliens who buy steak with food stamps then go out to an expensive SUV...
No kidding!!!!
It has begun. Look out parasites, your overlords are going to take away your, crab legs shrimps, pastry goods, pre cooked frozen entrees, chips, and sugary soda. And your ebt cash will not work either because they will want to check what you buy with it.
Mmm Mmm mmm! Barack and ‘chelle Obama.
I watch a couple in front of me a few weeks back use food stamps to buy cases of pop and nothing but candy and junk. Came to a toal of $80 all paid for from foodstamps whxih are now a debit card thing.
Deseret Industries used to do it in Utah for assistance to Mormon families. They’d even give cooking lessons if necessary.
I'm sure they have people who can refer it to a committee, spend three years holding meetings about it, come up with a proposed rule for public comment, spend another six months reviewing the public comments, and yeah, ultimately publish a final rule five years from now.
And we will probably find their definitions absurd.
BTW, the budget for this process will be in the range of 3 million.
It has gotten ridiculous. How I long for the 50s.
My Lord, the best of times!
EXACTLY! The diet version is pure poison!
Amen! Rice, corn, and beans, perhaps potatoes. Perhaps a boring diet, but it provides all the nutrients necessary for a healthy diet. That might motivate them to go out and apply themselves.
Great idea but we all know that logic has no place in government policy.
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