is it ethical to ban food stamp recipients from using it to buy soda?

[joseph_hung]

I think it's wrong to prohibit what items of general groceries can be purchased with food stamps. We don't have this system in the UK however I know of people who have used this facility in the US. My biggest concern is where is the line drawn between what is unhealthy and healthy - if an item is borderline unhealthy then which side of the line does it fall? Also, a good point was raised - what about diet drinks? I don't think any one should police what general food stuffs you can and cannot eat.

Taxes get used in so many various outlets is it really so awful that someone who has very little buys a bottle of Dr. Pepper? Thinking of all the seemingly pointless areas where you taxes are distributed in the grand scheme of things I personally don't think it's a big issue. Just leave them be.

I agree that it's horrible how much more we scrutinize what the poor do with a small chunk of our tax dollars, more than we scrutinize what the rich do with a much larger chunk of our tax dollars, but that's just the way it happens when the rich have media outlets to focus everything on blue collar issues. Either way, I don't see anything wrong with restricting food stamps to healthy things (or at least something healthier than a Coca Cola). Anyone who's been living off sodas would be happy if they switched to water and felt just how much better it made them.

 

[Industrialsize]

keep in mind, i'm not the biggest fan of soda either. But i know this idea won't do a thing but make some disgruntled taxpayers feel more righteous for their own mistakes by telling others how to live their lives. .

bingo!

 

[El_Cubano]

I do not consider soda pop a necessity.

 

[Channelwood]

If full-calorie soda is banned because it is considered "liquid candy", I hope that the same treatment will be given to 100% fruit juice.

The public has been conditioned that soda = junk, while fruit juice = natural and healthy. Take a look at the contents sometime to convince yourself. While fruit juice has some trace ingredients that may be good for you, as far as calories are concerned drinking fruit juice is just like chugging down a full-calorie soda.

Having recently turned around my diet to be specifically calorie conscious in the last 2 1/2 months, I have completely eliminated fruit juice, which used to be a staple of my diet. I now include diet (0 calorie) soda as a way to assuage my sweet cravings along with a meal.

I've lost 30 pounds.

 

[deleted213967]

Unethical? No. No one is suggesting that sodas should be outlawed, for food program recipients or for the rest of us.

So-called trans-fat is already outlawed, for paying customers, in parts of this country and others, and few are calling the ban "fascism". Note: even all-natural gourmet butter can be construed as "trans-fat".

Food assistance programs should be designed to help keep the recipients as healthy as possible, not further destroy their health with liquid toxic waste, with well-documented health hazards and no known health benefits.

The problem is less ethical than operational: how to promote more healthful food choices without facing costly enforcement hurdles?

Only accepting the card at WholePaychecks and the likes of them?

That wouldn't work. They tend to be located in affluent communities, not where the brunt of the program recipients are based. Besides an all-organic-fair-trade-sustainable-eco-friendly bagful of chips is orders of magnitude less healthful than a conventional avocado from the convenience store down the block.

Maybe a multi-tier pricing card would reach that goal. Minimally-processed foods (rice, potatoes, nuts, fruits, vegetables, fish, ...) would be subsidized far more heavily, while highly-processed items would be discouraged with a capped allowance and no subsidy to the merchant.

 

[earllogjam]

People should only be able to buy stale bread with their food stamps. The water they can just drink out of the garden hose at the zoo.

 

[surferboy]

People should only be able to buy stale bread with their food stamps. The water they can just drink out of the garden hose at the zoo.

reading this in brian griffin's voice made me giggle

 

[Mem]

reading this in brian griffin's voice made me giggle

Stewie's voice would be funnier.

 

[helgaleena]

Beer is highly nutritious, but you can't buy it with food stamps either. It isn't much of a difference. Those with allergy to milk will still not use their food stamps to buy milk, even if it's 'healthier'.

 

[breeze]

I don't remember the exact details but i believe it was Michael Roizen M.D. { the doctor who wrote Real Age which was turned into a pbs special series } who reported that caffeine prevents/blocks alzheimers { 7 studies so far }. He was referring to coffee { and i don't think you have to drink that much for it to have an effect } but caffeine is caffeine {found in coke} and if this is a benefit its priceless. { though you should drink diet coke which is harmless i believe , more or less } How much caffeine does coke have ? I don't know.

 

[surferboy]

I don't remember the exact details but i believe it was Michael Roizen M.D. { the doctor who wrote Real Age which was turned into a pbs special series } who reported that caffeine prevents/blocks alzheimers { 7 studies so far }. He was referring to coffee { and i don't think you have to drink that much for it to have an effect } but caffeine is caffeine {found in coke} and if this is a benefit its priceless. { though you should drink diet coke which is harmless i believe , more or less } How much caffeine does coke have ? I don't know.

even if it is proven that caffeine prevents alzheimer's, that doesn't excuse the fact that there is no nutritional value to soda

on a related note, the fke sugar they put in diet sodas is believed to be linked to alzheimer's and parkinson's

 

[breeze]

even if it is proven that caffeine prevents alzheimer's, that doesn't excuse the fact that there is no nutritional value to soda

on a related note, the fke sugar they put in diet sodas is believed to be linked to alzheimer's and parkinson's

It says on the label diet coke is not a significant source of sugars or anything else for that matter except maybe caffeine. I don't know if anybody can find it but mehmet oz { the tv doctor } and michael roizen wrote an article on sodas and if i remember basically said they were harmless. Now i don't know about the sugars involved in regular sodas. But the idea of making sodas healthier by puting in vitamins and such sounds good to me. But you can't , for one minute , understate the significant of something that can prevent a disease like alzheimers. But no doubt soda companies should do something to improve their drinks. I guess it is inexcusable in that sense.

 

[Tee&A]

I try to look at situations like this from both sides.

I like to compare the Food Stamp Program to the WIC program. WIC was started to ensure that pregnant women, infants, and children in low income brackets could still get nourishing, healthy food. The Food Stamp Program was started to ensure that those who could not afford to eat were still able to. Now let's look at some differences between the two:

WIC:
- Restricted to pregnant women, infants, and children under a certain age (because the government feels that providing proper nourishment during pregnancy, infancy and up to a certain age in childhood are imperative for proper brain and cognitive development)
- Only certain foods may be purchased with WIC vouchers (milk, real cheese, healthy cereals with no sugar, 100% juice, etc)
- WIC recipients are required to attend health and nutrition classes in order to receive their vouchers; if they miss a class they are on probation; if they miss another, they are removed from the program.
- WIC vouchers must be used on the most economical option; you cannot buy the $6.00 can of Donald Duck brand orange juice with a WIC voucher. You can, however, buy the generic $2.50 equivalent.
- WIC is given in the form of vouchers, not in an ATM-like card. These vouchers must be filled out in their entirety and the process can be time consuming. Because of this, many grocery stores have "WIC Only" checkout lanes so that those paying in cash won't be "slowed down".

Food Stamps:
- Can be given to anyone who meets the eligibility requirements, not just pregnant women, infants and children
- Formerly, one could not purchase hot, prepared food with FS; now the restrictions on foods that can be purchased with them are more lax, and there are even fast food restaurants that now accept them.
- There are no nutrition or health awareness classes required to receive FS.
- Food Stamps are now given in the form of an ATM-like card. There is no holding up the line because this is typically a common form of payment.

So...what would happen if there were restrictions on the use of Food Stamps? What if you couldn't use more than 5% of your stamps to purchase junk food, and anyone found circumventing the system had their Food Stamp privileges revoked? What if FS recipients had to take nutrition and budget classes (to learn about not only what healthy foods to buy, but the most economical)? What if you couldn't use FS to purchase party food for your kegger, your tailgate party, your husband's birthday bash, etc? Just points to ponder, because I think the system needs reform. Some people truly need Food Stamps, but some people don't understand the original intent behind them.

I have found that when people purchase things with others' money,they have a tendency to spend more freely than they would with their own; that being said, what's wrong with some Food Stamp regulation? It is sad that a government program funded with government money (read: "taxpayer" money) has so little regulation, and those that try to regulate it are seen as fascists. God bless America, land that I love.

Surferboy, you say you work in the 'hood; I grew up there . I cannot tell you how incensed I got (even in my youth) watching people buy crab legs, shrimp, lobster tails, etc, with Food Stamps when I had two jobs and could barely afford to cook spaghetti with meat sauce. I also remember feeling the same way when I wocould barely afford Corn Flakes on sale, but the person paying with Food Stamps had carts full of Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, cookies, Little Debbie cakes--and yes--soda. So, I understand where you're coming from. If you get Food Stamps then get Food Stamps, but why should you be able to eat in an unhealthy manner on them?

End of rant. Sorry.

 

[Penis Aficionado]

Surferboy, you say you work in the 'hood; I grew up there . I cannot tell you how incensed I got (even in my youth) watching people buy crab legs, shrimp, lobster tails, etc, with Food Stamps when I had two jobs and could barely afford to cook spaghetti with meat sauce. I also remember feeling the same way when I wocould barely afford Corn Flakes on sale, but the person paying with Food Stamps had carts full of Pop Tarts, Lucky Charms, cookies, Little Debbie cakes--and yes--soda. So, I understand where you're coming from. If you get Food Stamps then get Food Stamps, but why should you be able to eat in an unhealthy manner on them?

End of rant. Sorry.

You worked two jobs and could barely afford spaghetti with meat sauce.

But instead of expressing anger at the employers who did not offer you a decent wage, you chose to rant against food-stamp recipients whom you felt could afford better quality food than you.

I don't know why you saw what you saw in the grocery store. Maybe you faced financial obligations that your food stamp-using fellow shoppers did not. Maybe at that particular time and place, "the dole" simply paid better than wage labor.

Regardless, I think your misplaced anger perfectly epitomizes why we are doomed.

 

[Tee&A]

You worked two jobs and could barely afford spaghetti with meat sauce.

But instead of expressing anger at the employers who did not offer you a decent wage, you chose to rant against food-stamp recipients whom you felt could afford better quality food than you.

I don't know why you saw what you saw in the grocery store. Maybe you faced financial obligations that your food stamp-using fellow shoppers did not. Maybe at that particular time and place, "the dole" simply paid better than wage labor.

Regardless, I think your misplaced anger perfectly epitomizes why we are doomed.

First: I did indeed "face financial obligations that my food stamp-using fellow shoppers did not": I moved out at age 15--not by choice--and had to pay all my own bills in order to live. Seeing as how very few people on the FSP get just Food Stamps (and also receive welfare benefits, free childcare, free housing, etc) I had far more expenses as a working teen than a non-working teen with a baby. And before anyone asks, I didn't "qualify" for Food Stamps because I never wanted them. I would have rather eaten crackers and tuna and still had something in my stomach than risk getting into the Food Stamp trap and becoming accustomed to it. So was I angry that those women received Food Stamps? No, because frankly many of them needed them. I was angry, however, that they were living it up on them. I am a big fan of responsibility and being a good steward of what you've been given (emphasis on "given").

Second: My employers paid me a fine wage that far exceeded what a 15-year-old high school student typically makes; unfortunately, it was just enough to live on, not enough with which to buy lobster tails. For me--at that time--yes, having spaghetti with meat sauce was a luxury, and one that I rather appreciated and enjoyed. I ate a lot of ramen noodles, tuna, crackers, and toast (which prepared me for college greatly).

Third: I admit that I was unapologetically angry that I worked two jobs, went to school full-time and could barely make it, but women who produced multiple babies they could ill afford made it quite comfortably and in style, even. How terribly gauche of me to be angry that someone who received a handout on my tax dollars lived a life that far exceeded the standards of many of us who paid the tab for them to live that way. How dare I?

Fourth: I have news for you about people making low or "indecent" wages--they aren't going to their employers and asking for anything because in this economy, many people are happy to be working at all for minimum wage or otherwise. And many of them would rather work two or three jobs that pay minimum wage and eat spaghetti with meat sauce as a luxury than live off the system if they don't have to.

I said it before and I'll reiterate: handouts without regulation produce a sense of entitlement, and that sense of entitlement breeds abuse. If the Food Stamp Program was treated like the WIC Program, the abuse would go down exponentially.

I'm in my thirties, have a graduate-level education and am blessed to be working for far more than I could have ever imagined at 15. But even though I am no longer that starving 15-year-old student, I still feel the same way about Food Stamps. For every person that is using them because they're truly down on their luck and need them to eat (because they can't find work or enough work to be able to afford to eat), there are 500 Boomqueshas and Lynn-Lynn's who are planning birthday bashes for 50 people with them, using them to pay to get their nails done, or selling them for a crack fix.

 

[fratpack]

Sorry but I don't agree with putting restrictions on food stamps. What I would rather see is education given on nutrition. Where is Jamie Oliver when you need him?!?

 

[helgaleena]

I have been on both Food Stamps and WIC. As soon as I became eligible for SSI I was 'too well off' for Food Stamps any longer. The WIC ended when my youngest went beyond their maximum age.

When I was at our poorest I had to cajole my middle class friends into letting me buy groceries for them and then reimbursing me in cash so that I could pay rent and utilities. Eventually it made them nervous enough of me to end their friendship with the 'white trash'. That and my 'special needs' child who didn't look good at their social events...

But you are too quick to judge those with the lobster tails in their carts. They may have been doing as I did, buying for a friend in order to have some cash. You cannot know what makes strangers to you do as they do. I am grateful for the assistance my family did receive, when we were in a very bad extremity.

 

[SilverTrain]

And don't use your medicaid for a cold you got from staying up too late, running yourself down, after drinking coffee after 7pm.

So don't buy coffee with your food stamps, either.

Or anything else that could possibly lead to health problems that would require utilizing the gift of taxpayer-funded medicaid.

Ad nauseum..........



I'm with nudey,

Liquor and cigs provide a bright-line, reasonable standard.

The food monitoring is a slippery slope.

 

[Rikter8]

The welfare system needs a total scrap job and start fresh with new rules.
There's more leeches on the system than people that truly need it.

I vote for a welfare reduction. Every kid is a 10% drop in total pay.

 

[earllogjam]

Stewie's voice would be funnier.

What? You're kidding right.