The Food Nazi Says NO SHRIMP FOR YOU: How One State Plans to Feed the Poor.

[Axulus]

Probably somewhere between luxuries like caviar and spaghetti sauce.

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How did dried, bulk beans get on the list? What could be cheaper and more nutritious than beans?

These appear to be two separate programs. One is called WIC (women, infants, and children) - it's aim is to subsidize/pay for a variety of things in the diet to add more nutrition and variety to the diet to make it more balanced, such as green leafy vegetables, fruits, milk, etc. Dried beans in bulk give a lot of calories for the price but are limited in other forms of nutrition.

Being high in fiber, it takes less beans to make a child not feel hungry than low fiber foods. Restricting beans is stupid.

The purpose of WIC is not to reduce hunger but to make the diet healthier and more balanced. SNAP is for hunger.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

People who make judgments about what other people eat, assume these people have a kitchen and a large refrigerator. They also assume these people have the time to prepare meals from basic ingredients. A box of store brand Hot Pockets may look like junk food, but it's something that can be cooked in a microwave and be ready in time for them to leave for their second part time job. It would be nice if Mom could spend an hour preparing a meat loaf and mashed potatoes, but that's not the life of a single mother on food stamps.

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

2) There's an awful lot of stuff you can prepare in a lot less than an hour's effort. I don't think I've ever spent an hour on preparing a meal, the only time I've seen my wife do that involved company or a few things of hers (Chinese things that you're not going to find in an ordinary US grocery store) that take a lot of prep.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

 

[laughing dog]

Shrimp is for good people, working people. Poor people (who obviously don't work hence they are poor) are just trying to act above their station when they dare to eat shrimp.

You said most of them are working or on disability, right? Why can't they use some of their pay or disability payment for shrimp? Not saying that I support this restriction, but they idea that they don't get shrimp because they are beneath it seems like a bogus stance since they still have access to shrimp if they want it.

That is why it is so fucking stupid. Money is fungible. People who are earning some income can simply buy shrimp or any item without using food stamps. But that requires an unnecessary separation of shopping or spending. So, these recipients and the store personnel have to spend more time and effort to achieve the same outcome - all because some bigots or puritans or ignoramuses or control freaks think they know best.

Which is pretty ironic. Can you imagine how this legislator would react if the Federal gov't required Mississippi to changes its racist flag in order to receive its "welfare" funds?

 

[AthenaAwakened]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

2) There's an awful lot of stuff you can prepare in a lot less than an hour's effort. I don't think I've ever spent an hour on preparing a meal, the only time I've seen my wife do that involved company or a few things of hers (Chinese things that you're not going to find in an ordinary US grocery store) that take a lot of prep.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

I don't have any welfare money, and SNAP by design won't buy alcohol so what in the hell are you babbling about?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

2) There's an awful lot of stuff you can prepare in a lot less than an hour's effort.

Anything that can be made in less than an hour can be made in a fraction of that time via the frozen section of a store.

I don't think I've ever spent an hour on preparing a meal...

Not once? Then you aren't exactly qualified to be talking here.

..., the only time I've seen my wife do that involved company or a few things of hers (Chinese things that you're not going to find in an ordinary US grocery store) that take a lot of prep.

LP wife anecdote... TF BINGO.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

What a ridiculous and intellectually dishonest retort.

 

[RavenSky]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

 

[Arctish]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

Not necessarily. Full time employment in the fast food industry, or as an unskilled laborer, or on the lower rungs at Wal Mart might yield enough income for a person to support themselves, but not to support a family. Full time employment, even full time + additional work, does not mean a person earns enough for that.

Also, people in economically depressed areas often have very long commutes to get to their jobs. There might not be enough time to devote to cooking from scratch each night, especially when there are young kids present who need a parent's attention in order to thrive.

 

[laughing dog]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

Not necessarily. Full time employment in the fast food industry, or as an unskilled laborer, or on the lower rungs at Wal Mart might yield enough income for a person to support themselves, but not to support a family. Full time employment, even full time + additional work, does not mean a person earns enough to support a family.

Also, people in economically depressed areas often have very long commutes to get to their jobs. There might not be enough time to devote to cooking from scratch each night, especially when there are young kids present who need a parent's attention in order to thrive.

And it may be the case that one of the siblings is doing the cooking which might make a prepared meal a better bet.

 

[bilby]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

Not necessarily. Full time employment in the fast food industry, or as an unskilled laborer, or on the lower rungs at Wal Mart might yield enough income for a person to support themselves, but not to support a family. Full time employment, even full time + additional work, does not mean a person earns enough to support a family.

Also, people in economically depressed areas often have very long commutes to get to their jobs. There might not be enough time to devote to cooking from scratch each night, especially when there are young kids present who need a parent's attention in order to thrive.

But all that stuff is complicated and makes it difficult to leap to a simplistic conclusion.

So Loren simply has to pretend it doesn't exist. It's much simpler to say that Welfare = Under Employment = Free Time. Who cares whether it's true? To assume that it might be false, or that the number of situations in which it is false is significant, is just making things harder.

The best way to pick a political stance is to start with the assumption that everything is easy, simple and homogeneous. Then you can leap tpo conclusions with almost no thought at all - Do you not see how much easier that is?

 

[Loren Pechtel]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

2) There's an awful lot of stuff you can prepare in a lot less than an hour's effort. I don't think I've ever spent an hour on preparing a meal, the only time I've seen my wife do that involved company or a few things of hers (Chinese things that you're not going to find in an ordinary US grocery store) that take a lot of prep.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

I don't have any welfare money, and SNAP by design won't buy alcohol so what in the hell are you babbling about?

The money your taxes pay for welfare.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

Not necessarily. Full time employment in the fast food industry, or as an unskilled laborer, or on the lower rungs at Wal Mart might yield enough income for a person to support themselves, but not to support a family. Full time employment, even full time + additional work, does not mean a person earns enough for that.

Also, people in economically depressed areas often have very long commutes to get to their jobs. There might not be enough time to devote to cooking from scratch each night, especially when there are young kids present who need a parent's attention in order to thrive.

Occasionally but that's not the usual case.

 

[laughing dog]

Occasionally but that's not the usual case.

And your empirical basis for this claim is...?

 

[Juma]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

Wellfare should be money and up to the individyal to decide what is best for them.

This foodstamp idiocy is not wellfare. It is a way for sooth your concious....

 

[AthenaAwakened]

1) Doesn't have an hour? She's on welfare because of a lack of work--she should have time.

2) There's an awful lot of stuff you can prepare in a lot less than an hour's effort. I don't think I've ever spent an hour on preparing a meal, the only time I've seen my wife do that involved company or a few things of hers (Chinese things that you're not going to find in an ordinary US grocery store) that take a lot of prep.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

I don't have any welfare money, and SNAP by design won't buy alcohol so what in the hell are you babbling about?

The money your taxes pay for welfare.

Along with the taxes the poor themselves pay. Even if they get that money back, the money is still taken and still used by the US Govt. And sales taxes and property taxes and various other taxes do not refund.

 

[AthenaAwakened]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

How often Loren?

The report indicates that the vast majority of trafficking – the illegal sale of SNAP benefits for cash or other ineligible items – occurs in smaller-sized retailers that typically stock fewer healthy foods. Over the last five fiscal years, the number of retailers authorized to participate in SNAP has grown by over 40 percent; small- and medium-sized retailers account for the vast majority of that growth. The rate of trafficking in larger grocery stores and supermarkets—where 82 percent of all benefits were redeemed—remained low at less than 0.5 percent.

While the overall trafficking rate has remained relatively steady at approximately one cent on the dollar, the report attributes the change in the rate to 1.3 percent primarily to the growth in small- and medium-sized retailers authorized to accept SNAP that may not provide sufficient healthful offerings to recipients. These retailers accounted for 85 percent of all trafficking redemptions. This finding echoes a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that suggested minimal stocking requirements in SNAP may contribute to corrupt retailers entering the program.

...

SNAP continues to have one of the lowest fraud rates for Federal programs. Over the past several years, USDA has taken steps to improve SNAP oversight through its SNAP Stewardship Solutions Project. USDA has seen declines in the rate of trafficking from four percent down to about one percent of benefits over the last 15 years. While fraud is rare in SNAP, no amount is acceptable, and it will not be tolerated.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/2013/fns-001213

So I will ask again, what in the hell are you babbling about?

 

[RavenSky]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

No, actually you were talking about how you think it is perfectly ok to tell poor people they can't feed their children almonds or red potatoes because you think you have the right to dictate what they are allowed to eat.

Your equally obnoxious, and totally unsubstantiated, claim that "all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids" is just a derail you are hoping will distract for the fact that you can't justify your first claim.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

Let me guess, your wife witnesses it happening all the time.

 

[Sarpedon]

food stamps are also an agricultural subsidy.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

How often Loren?

The report indicates that the vast majority of trafficking – the illegal sale of SNAP benefits for cash or other ineligible items – occurs in smaller-sized retailers that typically stock fewer healthy foods. Over the last five fiscal years, the number of retailers authorized to participate in SNAP has grown by over 40 percent; small- and medium-sized retailers account for the vast majority of that growth. The rate of trafficking in larger grocery stores and supermarkets—where 82 percent of all benefits were redeemed—remained low at less than 0.5 percent.

While the overall trafficking rate has remained relatively steady at approximately one cent on the dollar, the report attributes the change in the rate to 1.3 percent primarily to the growth in small- and medium-sized retailers authorized to accept SNAP that may not provide sufficient healthful offerings to recipients. These retailers accounted for 85 percent of all trafficking redemptions. This finding echoes a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that suggested minimal stocking requirements in SNAP may contribute to corrupt retailers entering the program.

...

SNAP continues to have one of the lowest fraud rates for Federal programs. Over the past several years, USDA has taken steps to improve SNAP oversight through its SNAP Stewardship Solutions Project. USDA has seen declines in the rate of trafficking from four percent down to about one percent of benefits over the last 15 years. While fraud is rare in SNAP, no amount is acceptable, and it will not be tolerated.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/2013/fns-001213

So I will ask again, what in the hell are you babbling about?

That's treating one type of fraud as if it's the only type of fraud.

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Why?

What Raven said.

So you two would have no problem with your welfare money buying booze for an alcoholic while their kids go hungry?

booze and alcohol is food? buying shrimp or nuts means you let your kids go hungry?

Seriously Loren, try not to let your prejudices show quite so blatantly next time.

I'm talking about what actually goes on--all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids.

No, actually you were talking about how you think it is perfectly ok to tell poor people they can't feed their children almonds or red potatoes because you think you have the right to dictate what they are allowed to eat.

Your equally obnoxious, and totally unsubstantiated, claim that "all too often welfare people cheat and convert their food stamps to cash and use it for their vices rather than feeding their kids" is just a derail you are hoping will distract for the fact that you can't justify your first claim.

What's better for the hungry kid, a red potato or 5 ordinary potatoes?

They aren't being given enough aid to feed the kids the expensive stuff. If they spend it on the expensive stuff they won't have enough to feed them with.