October 7, 2010
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i’m back…with a rant!
this is in response to an article my boyfriend just posted over on facebook.
this picture does not at all accurately portray lex posting a link on facebook today.
the link didn’t go directly to the article for me, so i pulled up one of my own:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/nyregion/07stamps.html
food stamps. do not spindle.
i thought food stamps were supposed to be for things you needed. in terms of beverages, the only thing anyone *needs* is water. although, this is america. god help us if we take away the people’s milk. did you know that american children are actually completely incapable of growth and development if they don’t drink milk? i hear chocolate is the most beneficial -_-
brown cow only has two legs. probably best not to drink the chocolate milk…
here’s the thing: mayor bloomberg isn’t banning the sales of soda altogether–though, if he were, i’d applaud it (10 packs of sugar per can, kids. seriously!). he’s saying, “if you want soda, you can have it–on your own dime.” thumbs up!
soda: now with passion! and feeling!
i can’t help but feel sardonic when it comes to the whole, “you can’t tell me what i can and can’t eat!” argument. if i gave you five bucks from my wallet, but didn’t want you to spend it on snack packs, i damn well wouldn’t let you spend it on snack packs. and why doesn’t anyone ever consider that the government has been regulating food and drink for ages?
warning: the green fairy has a terrible hairstylist.
why can’t people in the u.s. buy or import beverages containing wormwood? because the government says so. if you want to drink honest-to-goodness absinthe (which is to say: absinthe containing more than 10ppm thujone), you’ll have to take your sugar cube and spoon to spain or the areas of the uk where they allow that sort of debauchery
you may not like it, but if you’re that desperate, you can take your own money, travel to your country of choice, and 130 proof it up all night long…or until you puke bits of your liver, which is a major party foul.
this is about to get completely out of control…
after quite a bit of clicking, i’ve learned that food stamps aren’t at all limited to only the things one would need to survive. obviously, this article got me all ranty and researchy, so i’ve got a few interesting reads to add:
this one actually lists what is (and isn’t) eligible under the national SNAP program:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/retailers/eligible.htmand this is a lengthy, and fascinating, look at the reasoning behind food restrictions (or lack thereof):
http://www.fns.usda.gov/ora/menu/Published/snap/FILES/ProgramOperations/FSPFoodRestrictions.pdfthanks for the afternoon of education, lex
/rant
ahh, readers. it’s good to be back!
Comments (2)
Oh, honey! Listen I deal with this every day! While Jared and I were struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis (and believe me things got real bad) I would go to work and see this. These people would buy top brand stuff. Then I would see LOBSTER, LAMB, CROWN RIB ROAST, CRAB. While Jared and I were eating pasta or hamburger helper every night! The WIC program is the worst. You see people come in with 5 or 6 kids trailing behind them. They keep having the kids to keep getting the benefits. The upside to that program is that it STRICTLY regulates what you can and cannot buy. It is programmed into our registers computers and it will let us know if its NOT an approved item. Now as far as the amounts that they get per month on food stamps. It was sickening to see that these families of 3 to 4 people raking in more in benefits than I bring home in a month! Now dont get me wrong. I totally believe that if you need these benefits they should be obtainable for you. I understand them getting the basic staples like; milk, eggs, cheese, meat, fruits and veggies. But meat like lobster or a crown rib roast ( neither are cheap!), I dont understand. I dont think they should be able to get junk foods on food stamps. I think that the amounts and the items SHOULD be regulated on food stamps. I have seen people come in and get 50 bucks worth of CRAP! They will get chips, candy, cookies, their childs birthday cake! WTF! Now I am on a rant! Ok I am just gonna stop here!
Personally, i think food stamps should only be used on a few things. Meats, dairy, veggies/fruit, and canned goods/spices. Everything else should be purchased with their own money. Of course, they’ll never DO This, but still…
I get people in at the dollar tree all the time, and they do nothing but buy junkfood with their snap cards. Or they’ll get everyone with them a soda and put it on that card. The whole time i’m thinking ‘uhm…. best choice you could possibly be making right there. yup.’ That six dollars they just spent could have gone toward purchasing a roast or something for dinner, but it didn’t. And what steams me MORE, is when they pull out the money to purchase the non food items after they’re finished with food stamps, and they’ve got a wad of 20′s. Yes, some people come in, and i know they need every item they got, but it’s still not healthy, and they could have done better.
The government is so keen to set up new committees for fuck all weird issues, but they won’t set one up for this. Good game. Personally, i’m beginning to think it’s a conspiracy. The food industry fattens us up, and the healthcare industry deals with the after effects, all while the government turns a blind eye.