N.Y. to Ban Food Stamps Used on Sugary Drinks

[piasabird]

What is the difference between that and cool-aid? Both have sugar. For that matter they can just as easily buy a few bags of sugar and go crazy. This whole thing is a bit on the not well thought out side.

Then there is choclate fudge and carmel topping for your giant tub of ice cream. Top that off with some frozen pizza, and pre-packaged ready to bake choclate chip cookies.

 

[Painman]

I agree. Buy items of some nutritive value with MY money while you're at the supermarket.

Food stamps = MY money. Not an entitlement. You buy what *I* approve of you buying. There should be no right to privacy while spending public money on your self/family. If you need it, and accept it, you forfeit the right of fiscal privacy.

 

[zsdersw]

What is the difference between that and cool-aid? Both have sugar. For that matter they can just as easily buy a few bags of sugar and go crazy. This whole thing is a bit on the not well thought out side.

Kool-Aid is better for you than soda. If you put as much sugar in Kool-Aid as there is in soda it would taste horrible.. to anyone.

Sugar on its own is a food staple. It is used in preparation of more than just desserts and sweet things.

Then there is choclate fudge and carmel topping for your giant tub of ice cream. Top that off with some frozen pizza, and pre-packaged ready to bake choclate chip cookies.

Everything you mentioned has some nutritional value. Soda has none whatsoever.

 

[L00PY]

I think the story I heard yesterday said 6-8% of EBT purchases go towards sodas and the like. Making some of these sugary drinks non-EBT eligible could help, depending on the goals of this trial program. I don't have too much of a problem with Bloomberg's position.

I've also rung up people who used EBT to pay for their purchases. There was a fairly wide mix of races, ages, and ethnicities. I don't begrudge anyone that chooses to take advantage of a government program intended to keep people from going hungry. Sure it'd be nice if some of the recipients made healthier or more fiscally responsible choices, but I won't pretend to know their reasons for using EBT, their motivations, nor their financial situations.

 

[spidey07]

This brings up the topic of how powerful shame is. They moved to the debt cards for food stamps because people were embarrassed to use food stamps.

Well guess what! You should feel embarrassed, you should feel shame, you should feel bad, you should be shunned. You are using other people's money to feed yourself, it's effectively stealing somebody's food which is the lowest of lows. That's the problem with all these entitlement programs. Society used to view these as something to be avoided because it meant you were a failure at life and would be viewed as such. Now it's "I deserve ma food stamps, I deserve ma money, you owe me!"

Let's get back to the time when using such services were shamed, publicly humiliated and viewed as failure. That would go along way along with time limits. Hunger is a hell of a motivator to get to work, take away the hunger, need for shelter, etc and the motivation to go to work is gone.

 

[OCNewbie]

Maybe could add a poll to this thread. Are you for or against this idea?

The entire food stamp program could use a massive overhaul. Starting with a ban on something as nutritionally void as sodas/soft drinks/etc is a great place to start.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

What is the difference between that and cool-aid? Both have sugar. For that matter they can just as easily buy a few bags of sugar and go crazy. This whole thing is a bit on the not well thought out side.

no one on food stamps would get off their lazy asses and go through that trouble.

 

[PeshakJang]

Maybe could add a poll to this thread. Are you for or against this idea?

The entire food stamp program could use a massive overhaul. Starting with a ban on something as nutritionally void as sodas/soft drinks/etc is a great place to start.

I guess I could do that... gonna cost you 5 stamps.

 

[werepossum]

This brings up the topic of how powerful shame is. They moved to the debt cards for food stamps because people were embarrassed to use food stamps.

Well guess what! You should feel embarrassed, you should feel shame, you should feel bad, you should be shunned. You are using other people's money to feed yourself, it's effectively stealing somebody's food which is the lowest of lows. That's the problem with all these entitlement programs. Society used to view these as something to be avoided because it meant you were a failure at life and would be viewed as such. Now it's "I deserve ma food stamps, I deserve ma money, you owe me!"

Let's get back to the time when using such services were shamed, publicly humiliated and viewed as failure. That would go along way along with time limits. Hunger is a hell of a motivator to get to work, take away the hunger, need for shelter, etc and the motivation to go to work is gone.

I agree that shame can and should be a powerful motivator, but I don't agree with intentionally inflicting public humiliation on those living on the dole. That seems to me to be unnecessarily cruel on those who do feel shame at being on the public dole. Sometimes bad shit happens to good people despite the best-laid plans of mice and men.

 

[PeshakJang]

I agree that shame can and should be a powerful motivator, but I don't agree with intentionally inflicting public humiliation on those living on the dole. That seems to me to be unnecessarily cruel on those who do feel shame at being on the public dole. Sometimes bad shit happens to good people despite the best-laid plans of mice and men.

Ok... 6 months debit card... then back to shameville for those still on it.

Just like the segments of our society that try to make people think it's OK to be fat as hell... or glorify being a bottom-of-the-barrel street criminal... etc. We shouldn't be encouraging destructive lifestyles.

 

[rstove02]

This will change little. They (food stamp recipients) will just move the soda over to the separate booze and cigarettes pile when checking out where they will then pull out a large wad of cash to pay for.

Am not saying this is always the case, but often.

 

[bfdd]

Kool-Aid is better for you than soda. If you put as much sugar in Kool-Aid as there is in soda it would taste horrible.. to anyone.

Sugar on its own is a food staple. It is used in preparation of more than just desserts and sweet things.



Everything you mentioned has some nutritional value. Soda has none whatsoever.

It's funny you say that about Kool-Aid because I had just found that out for myself. Personally I like my Kool-Aid slightly watered down, I find it to be to overwhelming at times. Supposedly it has anti-oxidants and other crap in it too.

 

[TheWiseOne]

I have no problem with it. It is a state program and the state is free to do with it what it likes.

I do like that it exempted proper fruit juice and milk, though.

I agree, sugary drinks are unhealthy so I'm ok with the ban since its trying to promote healthy choices in diet

I dont like the poll here, there are a lot of people who work their butts off and still end up needing assistance.

 

[bfdd]

I agree, sugary drinks are unhealthy so I'm ok with the ban since its trying to promote healthy choices in diet

I dont like the poll here, there are a lot of people who work their butts off and still end up needing assistance.

Very true, it's just they aren't the ones we always see because those kind of people generally keep to themselves. The other idiots who abuse it are the ones who flaunt it.

 

[Carmen813]

This brings up the topic of how powerful shame is. They moved to the debt cards for food stamps because people were embarrassed to use food stamps.

Well guess what! You should feel embarrassed, you should feel shame, you should feel bad, you should be shunned. You are using other people's money to feed yourself, it's effectively stealing somebody's food which is the lowest of lows. That's the problem with all these entitlement programs. Society used to view these as something to be avoided because it meant you were a failure at life and would be viewed as such. Now it's "I deserve ma food stamps, I deserve ma money, you owe me!"

Let's get back to the time when using such services were shamed, publicly humiliated and viewed as failure. That would go along way along with time limits. Hunger is a hell of a motivator to get to work, take away the hunger, need for shelter, etc and the motivation to go to work is gone.

You really have very little understanding of human behavior and motivation, don't you? I mean, it's almost like you WANT people to stay on food stamps.

 

[marincounty]

I say take away the soda-and let 'em buy beer! I hear that beer is considered food in Germany, I wonder if Germans buy beer for the poor?

 

[dmcowen674]

I can't wait for the Republicans on here to be told what they can and what they can't eat.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

I can't wait for the Republicans on here to be told what they can and what they can't eat.

What does that even mean?

I swear to God sometimes I wonder how you find your way home at night.

 

[OCNewbie]

I can't wait for the Republicans on here to be told what they can and what they can't eat.

This isn't even what the article in the OP is about anyway. It's not about regulating what they can or can't eat, it's about regulating what they can and can't purchase with food stamps.

 

[Jaskalas]

I agree. Buy items of some nutritive value with MY money while you're at the supermarket.

Food stamps = MY money. Not an entitlement. You buy what *I* approve of you buying. There should be no right to privacy while spending public money on your self/family. If you need it, and accept it, you forfeit the right of fiscal privacy.

So much for that whole abolishment of slavery thing.

 

[Jaskalas]

This isn't even what the article in the OP is about anyway. It's not about regulating what they can or can't eat, it's about regulating what they can and can't purchase with food stamps.

For 41 million Americans that is precisely the dictation of what they can or cannot eat.

 

[bfdd]

For 41 million Americans that is precisely the dictation of what they can or cannot eat.

Then maybe they should fend for themselves. If they can't, then they're just like a child and they'll eat whatever the fuck we say they can eat. It's not THEIR money being used to buy the food. We get to dictate what it's spent on if they want our help.

 

[OCNewbie]

For 41 million Americans that is precisely the dictation of what they can or cannot eat.

This is not true, or at least a gross exaggeration of the facts. Assuming your number is accurate, 41 million would encompass the entire population of those on food stamps. Do you really believe that every bite of food or drink that enters the mouths of these 41 million people comes solely from their food stamp purchases?

I don't believe that anyone on the food stamp program is "owed" anything. The government is in no way obligated to provide an all-you-can eat buffet to anybody. Unless you want to split hairs, this is essentially a totally free service to those who receive it. Why shouldn't such a hand out come with some stringent regulations?

 

[DucatiMonster696]

When I was in elementary school the kids that received free or reduced cost lunches were not allowed to buy an ice cream with their lunch. Do you think that those kids went without an ice cream? What they would do was hand one of their friends a dime to buy the ice cream for them. Why would anyone think it would be any different with food stamps? Do you really think they don't buy the items that they are currently not allowed to buy with food stamps or do you think they buy the stuff they can buy with the food stamps and the stuff they can't with their own cash?

If they do then it is a decision they will make on their own and with their own money. Hence they have no one to blame for their obesity, heart problems, etc but themselves. In the end you can't save stupid people from themselves and trying to do so will likely end up with you being dragged down to meet your own demise alongside with them.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

So much for that whole abolishment of slavery thing.

Can you please try to exaggerate and throw in more racially charged overtones?