The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on January 14, 2017, 09:57:19 AM
-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028473423
Oh my.
philosslayer (3,055 posts) Sat Jan 14, 2017, 10:44 AM
In the Shopping Cart of a Food Stamp Household: Lots of Soda
What do households on food stamps buy at the grocery store? The answer was largely a mystery until now. The United States Department of Agriculture, which oversees the $74 billion food stamp program called SNAP, has published a detailed report that provides a glimpse into the shopping cart of the typical household that receives food stamps.
The findings show that the No. 1 purchases by SNAP households are soft drinks, which accounted for about 10 percent of the dollars they spent on food. “In this sense, SNAP is a multibillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy of the soda industry,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “It’s pretty shocking.”
For years, dozens of cities, states and medical groups have urged changes to SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to help improve nutrition among the 43 million poorest Americans who receive food stamps. Specifically, they have called for restrictions so that food stamps cannot be used to buy junk food or sugary soft drinks.
But the food and beverage industries have spent millions opposing such measures, and the U.S.D.A. has denied every request, saying that selectively banning certain foods would be unfair to food stamp users and create too much red tape.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/well/eat/food-stamp-snap-soda.html?_r=0
I really did a double take when I saw this. Now the New York Times is shaming the poorest among us? I really don't see the point of this article other than to "remind poor people that they don't make good decisions. tsk tsk." Disgusting.
Well, some people need reminded of things.
demmiblue (9,907 posts) Sat Jan 14, 2017, 10:45 AM
1. You're not fooling anyone.
<<<not sure what ^^^ means, but whatever.
Maybe they think the primitive's a mole, and trying to look legit by protesting the Times article?
flamingdem (34,821 posts) Sat Jan 14, 2017, 10:46 AM
2. I agree that soft drinks are one item that should be restricted
because of the power of those lobbies, and because of the huge number of Americans becoming obese and diabetic. That is a top reason for the burden on health services.
Kilgore (941 posts) Sat Jan 14, 2017, 10:47 AM
3. Since when is soda nutrition?
-
When I worked in Jacksonville, I went to WalMart not realizing the EBT cards had been filled the day before. The place was packed but one woman really stood out to me.
She was an ethnic minority of probably 350 lbs. with 6 chillens in tow. 3 shopping carts they had, ALL filled with frozen food. One cart was completely full of frozen mac and cheese. Not one fruit, not one vegetable, no meat.
When I was checking out, I made a low volume comment to the cashier (white lady, about 60) about how frozen mac and cheese was in high demand. She made a low volume comment back, "That and lunchables".
-
If I ran things it would be that people on assistance went to the government warehouse and got their rice, beans and cheese. Want steak or soda, get a job.
-
If I ran things it would be that people on assistance went to the government warehouse and got their rice, beans and cheese. Want steak or soda, get a job.
You are an evil bastard! :cheersmate:
-
philosslayer (3,055 posts) Sat Jan 14, 2017, 10:44 AM
In the Shopping Cart of a Food Stamp Household: Lots of Soda
What do households on food stamps buy at the grocery store? The answer was largely a mystery until now. The United States Department of Agriculture, which oversees the $74 billion food stamp program called SNAP, has published a detailed report that provides a glimpse into the shopping cart of the typical household that receives food stamps.
The findings show that the No. 1 purchases by SNAP households are soft drinks, which accounted for about 10 percent of the dollars they spent on food. ...
LoveKiller was quoting the NYT, but what's up with "food stamps"? Those were phased out during the late Clinton years. That said ...
If it's really news to anyone that soda is a significant % of EBT Card (and food stamps before that) purchases, I'd have to ask where these folks have been the past 40 or 50 years! And then I'd ask them who controlled Congress most of the past 4 or 5 decades.
-
Doesn't surprise me a bit, around here I've seen people buy soda with food stamps, empty the bottles, return them for a deposit, and use the money for a 40.
-
Doesn't surprise me a bit, around here I've seen people buy soda with food stamps, empty the bottles, return them for a deposit, and use the money for a 40.
Are soft drinks in returnable bottles still sold? Who makes them, other than some celebratory special from time to time putting a few "collectables" on the shelves?
-
Are soft drinks in returnable bottles still sold? Who makes them, other than some celebratory special from time to time putting a few "collectables" on the shelves?
Yes, in about a dozen states. One pays a bottle deposit of 5¢ per item. Pain in the butt to return the stuff. But I still do it. Occasionally my trunk gets full of Diet Coke cans and go get my deposit back. Good for an effort to recycle.
-
Are soft drinks in returnable bottles still sold? Who makes them, other than some celebratory special from time to time putting a few "collectables" on the shelves?
Or were you referring to glass collectible bottles?
-
Yes, in about a dozen states. One pays a bottle deposit of 5¢ per item. Pain in the butt to return the stuff. But I still do it. Occasionally my trunk gets full of Diet Coke cans and go get my deposit back. Good for an effort to recycle.
Here in Michigan it's $.10.
-
Here in Michigan it's $.10.
Ah, the Seinfeld episode involving the bottle deposit scam!
-
Ah, the Seinfeld episode involving the bottle deposit scam!
IIRC, not too long ago some guy(s) were busted for bringing cans or bottles from one state to another.
Once upon a time there were severe restrictions on food stamps, back when they were coupon like. I see signs on the shelves denoting food items as "WIC Approved". Ask me and I'd say they need restrictions on all of the supplemental programs.
Then I'd take it a step further, get busted selling your cards for cash, you permanently lose the aid.
-
If I ran things it would be that people on assistance went to the government warehouse and got their rice, beans and cheese. Want steak or soda, get a job.
^^^ I agree. Staffed by government workers... from the DMV. :cheersmate:
Would not work... the libs would cry that said warehouses are in remote places and not easy to get to. Kinda like the VA.
IIRC, not too long ago some guy(s) were busted for bringing cans or bottles from one state to another.
Once upon a time there were severe restrictions on food stamps, back when they were coupon like. I see signs on the shelves denoting food items as "WIC Approved". Ask me and I'd say they need restrictions on all of the supplemental programs.
Then I'd take it a step further, get busted selling your cards for cash, you permanently lose the aid.
Severe restrictions. Being on welfare should be a royal pain in the ass like getting your drivers license renewed. :cheersmate:
-
Arguably, the cruelest thing that the Left does to the poor is to make them comfortable in their poverty. That should change immediately.
Food stamps should be immediately restricted to staple items only, and only the least expensive ones on the store's shelves, usually generics, and quantities of each item should be limited: you can have store-brand mac-and-cheese, but you get no more than five servings per month per person in the household; the rest of what you will buy is broccoli and spinach and the like. No soda and no fruit punch: you will buy only whole juice, and that will be limited to a quantity of 16 oz. per person per day in the month. You may buy meat, but it won't be T-bones: you'll get a limited portion of lean ground beef, a limited portion of lean chicken, a limited portion of lean pork. No potato chips, no Ho-Hos, no ice cream, no cookies. It's hardly like we don't already have the technology to limit this stuff via the SNAP card. No more SNAP at convenience stores, either: it's inexcusable that people go and use SNAP at a TigerMarket across the street from a Kroger.
If the Obamas were actually serious about combating obesity, they would have started with the most obese bunch in the country, which are people who suck down junk food on SNAP. Of course, that would have alienated much of their core voting base: urban Blacks (though there are plenty of white folks who are in the same boat).
If I were king for a day, I would immediately restrict SNAP as above and end all cash benefits. No more going to the convenience market and buying Doritos on SNAP and then using the ATM to withdraw cash to buy beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. Section 8 gets paid by voucher, a limited amount of electricity gets paid by voucher, absolutely no TV of any sort, cable or otherwise, in any Section 8 or public housing, no internet allowed in public housing or Section 8 housing, and that includes smartphones. If you have a car and are on public assistance, that car must have a blue book value under $5000 or it will be auctioned off. No aftermarket stereos in cars, no fancy rims, no fancy paintjobs; you may have a car for basic transportation to and from a job search and the grocery store and church as needed, no more. And if you're not employed and of sound mind and body, then you will spend at least four hours each weekday searching for a job, and another four hours each day doing community service work: picking up trash on the highway, mowing grass or shoveling snow at the public housing complex, city parks, etc., painting swingsets at the park, etc. And finally, you will be mandated to take part in those myriad federal job-training programs: you will learn a marketable skill and improve you lot in life whether you like it or not. And every single person receiving any sort of public assistance whatsoever will be subject to bi-weekly drug testing, to include tobacco. Anyone found possessing or under the influence of alcohol will immediately and summarily lose all public benefits forever.
Short version: there will be no more sitting around the stoop all day sucking on 40s and Newports. If you fall on hard times, then we, as a compassionate society, will help you get back on your feet and hopefully you will be stronger and better off than you ever were before. But you have to meet us more than halfway on this: we'll make sure that you're clothed, fed, sheltered, and don't shiver in the cold, but it's up to you to come to us to address what got you in this situation in the first place and fix it.
I guarantee that probably 70% of the people on public assistance will flee said assistance in weeks, leaving those who genuinely are on hard times and want to improve themselves and stand on their own two feet.
-
Arguably, the cruelest thing that the Left does to the poor is to make them comfortable in their poverty. That should change immediately.
Food stamps should be immediately restricted to staple items only, and only the least expensive ones on the store's shelves, usually generics, and quantities of each item should be limited: you can have store-brand mac-and-cheese, but you get no more than five servings per month per person in the household; the rest of what you will buy is broccoli and spinach and the like. No soda and no fruit punch: you will buy only whole juice, and that will be limited to a quantity of 16 oz. per person per day in the month. You may buy meat, but it won't be T-bones: you'll get a limited portion of lean ground beef, a limited portion of lean chicken, a limited portion of lean pork. No potato chips, no Ho-Hos, no ice cream, no cookies. It's hardly like we don't already have the technology to limit this stuff via the SNAP card. No more SNAP at convenience stores, either: it's inexcusable that people go and use SNAP at a TigerMarket across the street from a Kroger.
If the Obamas were actually serious about combating obesity, they would have started with the most obese bunch in the country, which are people who suck down junk food on SNAP. Of course, that would have alienated much of their core voting base: urban Blacks (though there are plenty of white folks who are in the same boat).
If I were king for a day, I would immediately restrict SNAP as above and end all cash benefits. No more going to the convenience market and buying Doritos on SNAP and then using the ATM to withdraw cash to buy beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. Section 8 gets paid by voucher, a limited amount of electricity gets paid by voucher, absolutely no TV of any sort, cable or otherwise, in any Section 8 or public housing, no internet allowed in public housing or Section 8 housing, and that includes smartphones. If you have a car and are on public assistance, that car must have a blue book value under $5000 or it will be auctioned off. No aftermarket stereos in cars, no fancy rims, no fancy paintjobs; you may have a car for basic transportation to and from a job search and the grocery store and church as needed, no more. And if you're not employed and of sound mind and body, then you will spend at least four hours each weekday searching for a job, and another four hours each day doing community service work: picking up trash on the highway, mowing grass or shoveling snow at the public housing complex, city parks, etc., painting swingsets at the park, etc. And finally, you will be mandated to take part in those myriad federal job-training programs: you will learn a marketable skill and improve you lot in life whether you like it or not. And every single person receiving any sort of public assistance whatsoever will be subject to bi-weekly drug testing, to include tobacco. Anyone found possessing or under the influence of alcohol will immediately and summarily lose all public benefits forever.
Short version: there will be no more sitting around the stoop all day sucking on 40s and Newports. If you fall on hard times, then we, as a compassionate society, will help you get back on your feet and hopefully you will be stronger and better off than you ever were before. But you have to meet us more than halfway on this: we'll make sure that you're clothed, fed, sheltered, and don't shiver in the cold, but it's up to you to come to us to address what got you in this situation in the first place and fix it.
I guarantee that probably 70% of the people on public assistance will flee said assistance in weeks, leaving those who genuinely are on hard times and want to improve themselves and stand on their own two feet.
I'm nicer than you are. I just want to restrict them to buying ingredients: milk, eggs, butter, flour, meat (no prime rib, lobster, or anything with an effective price over $7.50/lb), vegetables, etc. If they don't have jobs, they have time to cook and don't need the convenience of pre-processed food products. That should enable their monthly allotment to be cut by at least 25% right off the bat.
I'd also consider a modest carrot and stick program to reduce their spending: They get to keep, as cash transferred to their EBT card, 5% of the allotment they don't spend, but if they spend 100% of the allotment for six months out of a rolling twelve, they must bring in all receipts for purchases and account for where the food went.
-
IIRC, not too long ago some guy(s) were busted for bringing cans or bottles from one state to another.
Once upon a time there were severe restrictions on food stamps, back when they were coupon like. I see signs on the shelves denoting food items as "WIC Approved". Ask me and I'd say they need restrictions on all of the supplemental programs.
Then I'd take it a step further, get busted selling your cards for cash, you permanently lose the aid.
Living in the Quad Cities, often the same packaging was used for both the Iowa and Illinois stores. Iowa had a deposit, IL did not. Several people would cross the river with the cans into Iowa to capitalize on the deposit that they never paid.
Others I know that lived in Iowa, drank a lot of soda or beer and the cans would accumulate. They would often become a buggy, stinky mess in one's garage or shed. The cans could not be crushed to save space as then the deposit was non refundable at the time if the can was damaged. So they took up a lot of room. I imagine it was also a problem for taverns and restaurants that sold beer, as I suspect they had to store all the empties so they could be returned for the deposit.
-
I'm nicer than you are. I just want to restrict them to buying ingredients: milk, eggs, butter, flour, meat (no prime rib, lobster, or anything with an effective price over $7.50/lb), vegetables, etc. If they don't have jobs, they have time to cook and don't need the convenience of pre-processed food products. That should enable their monthly allotment to be cut by at least 25% right off the bat.
I generally agree with that, but I don't have any problem with someone getting canned peaches or canned peas or whatever. Let's face it: they last a lot longer than fresh and depending upon your particular situation, they can come out cheaper in the long run. I have a larger over-arching idea of forcing these people into healthy living habits. And I don't mean that they have to eat kale and arugula every day: plenty of people are quite healthy with just a decent balance of protein, vegetables, and fruits in their diet. The greater concern here is separating the needy from the greedy: a HUGE number of these people on public assistance are just riding in the social safety hammock, but there are people who genuinely need help: either they have managed to fall on hard times because the factory closed or maybe they hit the skids with drugs or alcohol, or, in a lot of cases, they simply don't know how to do things like draft a budget and how to cook for themselves. And, of course, there are those who have some mental or physical handicap that prevents them from being able to work out in the real world.
The greater point is to make these people who are riding the hammock uncomfortable. Right now, they're happy if they can get their booze and cigarettes and often drugs. Take that away from them, and they'll decide to move on in short order. That will free up a whole lot of resources for others who genuinely do need help.
I'd also consider a modest carrot and stick program to reduce their spending: They get to keep, as cash transferred to their EBT card, 5% of the allotment they don't spend, but if they spend 100% of the allotment for six months out of a rolling twelve, they must bring in all receipts for purchases and account for where the food went.
I'd be good with that, but that money needs to go into some sort of escrow that they can get once they wean themselves off of public assistance. Then they can use that to help with a deposit on an apartment or some such down the road.
-
Of course according to DU there is no such thing as EBT fraud.
-
Could trump sell curbing ebt by selling its medical benefits?
Look at most ebters and they are morbidly obese. Trimming down on the high calorie foods and drinks would be doing good (& donks love doing good) for the ebters. Also some type of mandatory exercise programs for heath benefits like picking up garbage on the roads or making small rocks out of big ones. just spit balling here so we can help these poor people.
-
Look at most ebters and they are morbidly obese. Trimming down on the high calorie foods and drinks would be doing good (& donks love doing good) for the ebters. Also some type of mandatory exercise programs for heath benefits like picking up garbage on the roads or making small rocks out of big ones. just spit balling here so we can help these poor people.
You know, speaking as someone who in his own life, which hasn't been a short one, during which time for a couple of weeks, a couple of months, here and there I was compelled to rely upon the generosity of social services of one nature or another, I have no problem, no problem at all, with what you suggest.
<<<relishes the idea of watching the subway cat, the undergroundpanther primitive, breaking rocks; it'd do her some good.
-
When I worked in Jacksonville, I went to WalMart not realizing the EBT cards had been filled the day before. The place was packed but one woman really stood out to me.
She was an ethnic minority of probably 350 lbs. with 6 chillens in tow. 3 shopping carts they had, ALL filled with frozen food. One cart was completely full of frozen mac and cheese. Not one fruit, not one vegetable, no meat.
When I was checking out, I made a low volume comment to the cashier (white lady, about 60) about how frozen mac and cheese was in high demand. She made a low volume comment back, "That and lunchables".
I have seen this as well. Funny thing is that some will add a single head of iceberg lettuce to the mix.