NYC food stamp soda ban rejected

[The Straight Story]

NYC food stamp soda ban rejected


NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Agriculture Department Friday rejected a plan to use New York as a test for banning the purchase of sugary drinks with food stamps.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a two-year pilot program to see if the ban would reduce obesity rates among food stamp recipients, The New York Times reported.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the department wants to work with Bloomberg, but an official called a citywide ban "too large and complex" to be a good test of the plan.

"We think our innovative pilot would have done more to protect people from the crippling effects of preventable illnesses like diabetes and obesity than anything else being proposed elsewhere in this country -- and at little or no cost to taxpayers," Bloomberg said. "We're disappointed that the federal government didn't agree, and sorry that families and children may suffer from their unwillingness to explore our proposal. New York City will continue to pursue new and unconventional ways to combat the health problems that hurt New Yorkers and Americans from coast to coast."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/19/NYC-food-stamp-soda-ban-rejected/UPI-12971313806678/

[AngkorWot]

1. Good.

It's a stupid, insulting idea in the first place.

[ZombieHorde]

2. Awesome. Recommended. nt

[Recursion]

6. So buying people food is not condescending and paternalistic

But setting nutritional requirements for the food is?

I was never on SNAP (or whatever it was called in my day) but I grew up on WIC and there wasn't even a choice there: you got the food that was delivered.

[ZombieHorde]

9. No. Yes. WIC is a little different now. nt

[Recursion]

13. What does it do now?

We got a load of shelf-stable milk and a bunch of cheese every two weeks (I think). But there were also some vouchers for the co-op extension market to get produce. Or maybe that wasn't WIC but something else.

[ZombieHorde]

37. You get a list of approved items, size, and brand names.

So you will have a coupon for several cans of tuna and some peanut butter. Then you will another coupon for two gallons of whole milk. Etc.

I don't know if cost is taken into account, but I know it is not like food stamps.

[sammytko]

58. WIC is for infants, toddllers and nursing moms - so the food you

can purchase with that is limited - milk, cereal, and couple of other things. SNAP - food stamps - is different.

[Recursion]

66. Right, I'm aware of what WIC does. It kept me from starving

I just wasn't clear why these restrictions are laudable for WIC but intolerable for SNAP.

[SoCalDem]

3. Fructose Lobby victory.. n/t

[Recursion]

7. Dentists' and insulin lobby also (nt)

[pstokely]

46. and the Diabetus testing supplies lobby (nm)

nt

[William769]

4. Good,

Recommended.

[Recursion]

5. Why? (nt)

[The Straight Story]

10. Probably because some on the left and in the US actually believe in choice

and freedom to make your own choices vs having a bunch of people in suits that care not a thing about you making choices for you.

I have worked most my life, at one point (after being injured) I got welfare and food stamps, I paid into the system - why should I have others deny me the ability to purchase the food/drink I like because it is not a choice they or their religion thinks is 'best' for a 'sinner' like me?

I guess us savages need someone like Boehner, et al, telling us that only civilized people like them would buy X and therefore only we should be able to as well.

Maybe you like being controlled, me and others don't.

[Recursion]

11. Nobody's stopping anybody from buying soda

The suggestion was public money shouldn't go to buying it, but rather to food that doesn't try quite so hard to kill you.

[William769]

15. Red meat is bad for you. Should that be banned also?

[Recursion]

17. For now I'll stick with stuff that has absolutely no positive nutritional value

But it's too late to make a slippery slope argument since you already can't buy alcohol with it, and red wine is certainly better for you than Mountain Dew.

[Recursion]

18. Also, why are you talking about "banned"? SNAP recipients could still have bought soda

There's no ban being discussed here.

[William769]

21. I don't know what your talking about.

I have never mentioned "SNAP recipients".

:shrug:

[Recursion]

30. This thread is about SNAP benefits being usable for sodas (nt)

[William769]

31. I learned something new I never heard the term SNAP

I always just used the term food stamps.

You wrote "The suggestion was public money shouldn't go to buying it, but rather to food that doesn't try quite so hard to kill you."

Red meat can kill you with it's saturated fat & cancer causing agents. Thats why I asked you if red meat should be banned.

[Recursion]

32. I think they changed the name when AFDC became TANF ('96 welfare "reform")

Red meat can kill you with it's saturated fat & cancer causing agents. Thats why I asked you if red meat should be banned.

Unlike sodas, red meat actually has nutritional value (everything you eat can in some way kill you -- don't get me started on soy and pancreatic cancer...). There is literally nothing redeeming about sugary (or aspartame-y) sodas -- they are cheap addictive substances that are hawked by people taking advantage of SNAP recipients.

[KittyWampus]

103. Red meat is good for you in moderation.

[The Straight Story]

20. Which is at the whim of whom?

Maybe some fundies think you buying shrimp is bad. Your body, your choice (well - for some that only applies to abortion. And those same folks making the law would tell you to just not have sex and you won't need an abortion, so why should they be legal?).

And, uh, there ARE trying to stop someone from buying soda. They hand you money to help feed your family and then tell them they can only buy with it what they and a few others think is 'right and good'.

How about we let individuals decide that? Or is that too much freedom for some?

[Recursion]

26. So should we get rid of the alcohol restriction? It's undeniably food. (nt)

[The Straight Story]

28. I have no problem with that. My Grandmother kept some in her house for years (and did not drink)

as a home remedy.

But here in the ole US of A we have come to see the poor as drunks and drug users, and everyone as potential terrorists and suspects.

We are striving to make everyone the same because people who are different are 'bad'.

If my grandma had gotten govt assistance way back when (oh wait, she did when grandpa died back in the 40's) she probably would have used some of that for some whiskey to keep in the house.

[Occulus]

48. Why the blue fuck do you ALWAYS take the Republican position?

I'd honestly like to know.

[Recursion]

49. Yeah, cause that's what happens

:eyes:

I think this limit is pointless and not politically worth it, but I don't see the horror in SNAP being limited to nutritious food.

[blueamy66]

45. So use your paycheck to buy the crap

and use public assistance to buy what is good for you...it's a no-brainer

[LanternWaste]

88. You're right... you're whole martyrdom angle just doesn't work without

You're right... you're whole martyrdom angle just doesn't work without the religion/sinner bit to better ad volts to an emotionally argued position.

"Maybe you like being controlled, me and others don't." Three points for the back-handed compliment based on a premise the poster already rejected.

[AngkorWot]

12. Maybe because just because they're poor, it doesn't mean they're stupid

and that they need to have all their thinking done for them.

Don't like pop? Don't drink it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0la5DBtOVNI

[Recursion]

14. Alternately, like pop? Buy it

Nobody's saying SNAP recipients can't buy soda.

[matt819]

8. Milk and white bread

There's a sign in the milk section of my grocery store that notes that people using food stamps must buy the cheapest milk, which is likely to be the store brand.

I have nothing against the store brand. I buy store brand stuff, and I've been perfectly happy with it (see digression below). And although I've made a commitment to reduce my grocery expense, one of the areas where I "splurge" is with mostly organic stuff, especially fruits and vegetables, and locally produced milk in bottles. I don't know if it's better, and I haven't really done a taste test, but I like the idea of buying local, and I do think it's better than "corporate" milk. (Yes, I know you can argue about the value of pursuing a localvore diet, but that's my choice, and if I pay more, so be it, as long as I can.)

What bothers me, and maybe this is arrogant, is that those using food stamps don't have this option. I don't know what other restrictions might be there - white bread instead of whole wheat, store brand peanut butter rather than Teddie's, etc. - but it strikes me as offensive to impose restrictions, whether it's on local food products, organic items, and the like. I'm not nuts about the idea of the whole soda and snacks thing, but if I'm going to argue against restrictions, I guess I have to oppose restrictions on soda and such.

All of that said, I did have to chuckle at an incident I observed about a month ago. I was checking out at the local natural foods store. Selection is pretty good, all produce is organic, staff is knowledgeable, but prices for some items are obscenely, painfully high (that's on the cutback list). In any case, I was behind a woman in line who divided her order into two parts - food stamp eligible and not food stamp eligible. I didn't catch how much the food stamp order was, but the non food stamp order came to well over $100. Notwithstanding my comments above, I have to admit that I did wonder about that.

Here's my store brand digression. One of the New England chains is Hannaford's. Over the past few months they've begun phasing out Hannaford store brand and introducing what appears to be a wider selection of something they call Home 360. I wonder whether that is sufficiently generic that the same "brand" can be used as the store brand for multiple chains. Two questions. Has anyone seend this brand in another grocery chain? And, second, does anyone know of a website where you can see who makes store brand items? Some brands have a notice on their packaging that they do not make store brand items, despite the almost identical packaging of the store brand. But I wonder how widespread this attitude is, or whether major name brands also mfr store brand items on a larger scale than I thought.

[Esurientes]

40. Food Lion used to carry Home 360.

They've recently started calling their store brand My Essentials, though.

[Shagbark Hickory]

42. Sounds an awful lot like Whole Foods private label which is "365"

[Bill McBlueState]

55. the "store brand" restriction is probably for WIC, not food stamps

We were on both programs for about a year after my daughter was born, when I was working on my PhD and my wife was home with the baby. Policies probably vary by state, but we were in Massachusetts at the time.

For food stamps, you would just check out as usual, pay first with your food stamp card, and anything ineligible would show up in a remaining balance. You could pay for that stuff with cash or whatever.

For WIC, you had to separate out the specific things WIC would cover and run those as a separate order paid for entirely with WIC vouchers. For WIC, but not food stamps, you had to get the cheapest brand available, but it was up to the cashier to enforce that.

[sammytko]

60. Those are WIC restricitons not SNAP n/t

[Recursion]

67. AFAIK the current SNAP restrictions are just alcohol and prepared food

It does get silly at times -- you can't buy the rotisserie chicken at the super market if it's behind the deli counter or under a hot lamp, but if they put it in a bag in the cooler section it's fine ("cooked" and "prepared" are different things; that at least I understand from working in food policy). Like any national rules promulgated by a bureaucracy there are a lot of unintended consequences. C'est le monde.

[Zax2me]

16. Thought sodas/high-fructose corn syrup were the new enemy?

And now it is defended for whom - the poor?
Something is backwards about all this.

[AngkorWot]

19. "backwards"

Well, there's the people who freak out over pop.

And then there's the people who want to treat the poor like second class citizens.

[William769]

23. Aren't the two one in the same?

:evilgrin:

[The Straight Story]

22. The only thing being defended is choice - something I thought the left was all for

Maybe I am wrong. Maybe we need to defend those poor people/savages from doing something we don't like.

Civilized people will help out those other folks make choices, because they are too ignorant to make their own.

Maybe the Europeans were right when coming here to save the Aztecs, Indians, etc from themselves.

It is NOT about the soda, etc - it is about letting people be them in a big tent. Something I thought for a long time liberals were for.

Now I am not so sure.

[Shandris]

24. Would have been a useless ban.

If someone wants soda, they'll get soda, food stamp ban or not. If you SERIOUSLY think otherwise, then you've never been in a community where more than a couple of people get food stamps and, hence, have no clue just what the hell you're talking about.

[Recursion]

27. The idea is it gets rid of the tallboy high-sugar cans for 99 cents

Which seem to be exclusively bought with EBT, at least at the bodega I go to.

[Shandris]

35. That wouldn't change. Instead, people would buy them with cash...

...then trade them to EBT recips at a premium. No different than the neighborhood guy who 'cashed' the Food Stamp books back in the day, or the one who fronts 'loans' on the EBT cards until the beginning of the next month at a premium.

OTOH...they have tallboy cans? Really? I've never seen such a thing here in Indiana. No, I'm not at all saying you're making it up -- there are SO MANY things on the coasts we never see, so please don't take me wrong. I mean, it took us something to the tune of 5 years to get Cherry RC. :) I just had never imagined!

[Recursion]

56. If that's happening widely the conservatives are right

Of course I've seen that happen a few times but if that is actually happening a lot, then the conservatives are right about SNAP.

[Shandris]

89. Well, I won't say its 'common' anymore directly. It's been a while since...

...I was on Food Stamps, and even more since I lived in an area that was predominantly on Food Stamps...at least, when I knew it. I may be in such an area now (I think I am, even), but I'm a recluse now and don't know anyone here. But back then, it was rather common, and by 'rather' I mean 'Done every month, without fail, for a particular dollar amount'. The household I lived in, for instance, would trade $170 in FS for $125 cash (this was in the 'book' days, several years back). It wasn't so widespread that the FS were totally wasted (they weren't), but it was enough to buy things that needed a black market (cigarettes, primarily, although other paper goods often made the list also.)

It wasn't used for drugs or anything (that I'm aware of), just things that couldn't be legally bought with FS that could with cash. So I wouldn't call the conservatives 'right', but anyone who thought there was 'virtually no' fraud wasn't very smart either. The cards are much harder, as they involve sharing cabs to the store and whatnot, but it's still remarkably simple.

Note, as a person who received FS -myself- (ie, as an adult), I never did any of these things. By that time, there was too great a risk and I didn't 'need' all the things that others 'needed' back in that environment.

[Recursion]

68. I know in DC the tallboy "iced tea" (aka sugar water) cans are the moral panic du jour

99 cents for 100 grams of sugar in a city with one of the worst diabetes problems in the country.

[Shandris]

93. Ohhhh, the Iced Teas.

Okay, I was thinking of tallboy Pepsi's or Coke's or what-have-you. Yeah, we at least have the teas around here. I tried one of those once (I was thinking hey, a big thing of iced tea, what could possibly go wrong?! I really should label-read more :P ) but wasn't impressed with it at all. Wow that's a lot of sugar though, 100 grams, really? Those things are what, 2 or 2.5 servings per bottle aren't they? At 2 servings, that's more than each serving of Pepsi has, and that's among the sweetest colas out there.

Don't think I'd go and make a black market out of them still, but you'd think somewhere along the line we could come up with a not-so-damn-sweet variant of it other than 'Unsweetened'.

[Aerows]

113. I ONLY drink unsweetened iced tea

And it's damn near impossible to find it in stores here on the Gulf Coast. I make a fresh pitcher of tea every day, but once in a while, when i'm out and about and thirsty, it would be nice to be able to buy unsweetened iced tea. You can't even find the unsweetened carry packs of powdered tea to put in a bottle of water.

It's really a shame.

[elocs]

25. Since this is proposed to be done to protect people, then why shouldn't everyone

receive the protection? I mean, those not on food stamps deserve to be protected from the ravages of diabetes and obesity.

How about we have a card that is used for purchasing sugary drinks? You only get a card to purchase these sugary drinks if your body mass index or blood sugar are within medically safe limits. Because we sure do want to protect all of you who don't use food stamps from the ravages of these diseases.

It wouldn't matter if you were only buying a single bottle or 12 pack of soda. If you are overweight or have high blood sugar, No Soda for You!

My guess is that you wouldn't like that system very much. That you would consider it paternalistic and condescending in spite of all the protection it is offering you. As good Democrats you favor personal choice even if you don't always make the best choice.

Guess what? Those of us who are on food stamps consider it to be fucking paternalistic and condescending as well. It's exactly the kind of program that the self righteous do-gooders who have never had to be on food stamps or any other public assistance want to impose on those of us who do receive it.

[smokey nj]

29. I find this especially ironic in light of yesterday's thread regarding

the playhouses wealthy people are building their kids, some of which include central air and indoor plumbing. Here's a link to the thread:

Is It Okay for Rich People to Spend Oodles on Kids' Playhouses?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=1777763

[Bill McBlueState]

57. exactly

Once you've been on these programs, you oppose such restrictions, even if they follow a certain train of logic that's circling around in the minds of the paternalistic.

[tpsbmam]

76. You don't have to have been on food stamps or any similar programs

to get it and totally agree with you. It's what I'd hope most progressives would get without you having to say it, but I guess that's not the case.

Wish I could rec your post x1000!

[elocs]

85. Thanks. One would hope that progressives could at least engage in a little empathy.

Those on food stamps or other programs where they receive help from the government don't need more ways to be made to feel small, to feel like losers.

Imagine being at a checkout counter at a grocery store with people behind you only to be told your "sugary drink" cannot be accepted on your Snap card. I can say that makes you feel like 2 cents as the people behind you give you looks or make comments.

I expect better from Progressives, or those who call themselves Progressives.

[tpsbmam]

94. DU has taught me to adjust those expectations.....

though it NEVER hurts to try and educate people and hope they learn that how they're thinking fits more with ReTHUG/teabagger type thinking than it does with being someone who knows damn well that people who use SNAP and other programs are people, plain and simple. People like you and me (w/ a Ph.D. but unable to work due to disability) and any single one of us hit in the gut by this horrific economy and all it means to everyone who isn't part of the elite, and hit by life circumstances beyond our control that can happen to anyone -- an uncomfortable thought.

Most of the members on DU could end up in your shoes or mine -- it's comfortable not to think that way, though. Sadly, it helps to maintain a "them" vs "us" mentality we see so often in teabagger types.

Keep educating -- it's posts like yours that reach even one or two people to get them seeing things differently. I truly do believe in the power of even changing one person -- that person carries it forward to others.

:hug:

[CTyankee]

111. People who are meanspirited enough will do that regardless, if they "notice" that

a person is using food stamps. It is classless and cruel.

OTOH, when you think of the ag subsidies to make sugary stuff, it can make you furious. I truly believe the food industry is killing us, and is really bent on polishing off the poor. After all, they are such a drag on the rest of us, right? :sarcasm:

Some days I feel that it is all an evil plot...

[DU GrovelBot]

33. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

This week is our third quarter 2011 fund drive. Democratic Underground is
a completely independent website. We depend on donations from our members
to cover our costs. Please take a moment to donate! Thank you!

Click here to donate

[Lucian]

34. Why don't they make fresh foods available then for the recipients?

Instead of banning things?

Promote the healthy lifestyle and allow recipients to get fresh produce. Hell, anything fresh would make sense.

[Recursion]

36. All farmers markets now accept EBT

It's one of the best decisions USDA made in years: they subsidize farmers markets' purchase of the swipe readers. Brilliant idea.

[Lucian]

38. Ah, that's great news.

Awesome.

:thumbsup:

[eShirl]

41. my local farmer's market doesn't. just as well, it's all high priced boutique produce

the lady I was going to buy a few leeks from looked stunned that I thought my EBT was good there

[Recursion]

43. Really? That's news to me; I thought they had rolled that out everywhere

This is peripherally related to my work (food and ag policy) so I'll see what I can find about that. I suppose if they didn't want the free EBT swiper they don't absolutely have to get it; I don't think it occurred to anybody that farmers would turn down money.

[eShirl]

52. I haven't gone this year, but as of last summer they didn't accept EBT.

I told her I'd heard I could use EBT at the farmer's market, and she was all, "What? Where did you hear that?" I think she did say something about the swipe machines would have cost the market money.

[KittyWampus]

105. Sorry to hear that. If you had any free time at all, I'd think it a great idea to try & change that.

Really stupid on the sellers' end of things.

It could mean good/bad publicity if some people got together and made some noise locally.

Good luck.

[sammytko]

61. Where are they being banned? You can even buy seeds with your SNAP

even the Schwan's guy takes SNAP. Lots of frozen veggies mixes and fish in their selection.

[socialindependocrat]

39. Go back to Europe if you want more laws!!!

Some law making is gettting too restrictive.

Whoever gave these people permission to get on our face?

Isn't this why we broke away from England????

Get some control people!!!!

[blueamy66]

44. no soda with food stamps

should be like WIC....with certain products available to buy...

on edit: as my ac turns on in AZ.....where it is 110 and I pay about $300 a month for my electric bill

I cut down on extras...those on food stamps should do so as well....not that hard

[WinkyDink]

50. They are ALREADY on FOOD STAMPS.

[blueamy66]

70. great...I'm all for food stamps....

just don't buy CRAP with it

[Saphire]

62. Well, aren't you full of self sacrifice. Why do you assume that folks on the food stamp program

have room to "cut down on extras"? What "extras" would that be??

[blueamy66]

69. soda, potato chips, t-bone steaks and

expensive cereal

That is what I have done...why can't they?

on edit: Can I add the crab legs that the guy in line in front of me bought with his EBT card? Geeeesssssh

[Recursion]

71. Relatively cheap (in season), high protein, low fat

Well, at least around the Chesapeake, crab isn't exactly "rich people" food.

[blueamy66]

72. It is in Arizona.

wayyyy expensive

[Aerows]

114. In the South

King Crab legs are around $15/lbs. A lot of people certainly can't afford that.

[eShirl]

73. low-end steak was on sale here for less /lb than any chicken in the store

yet the checkout bagger still rolled his eyes at me

why is that?

[blueamy66]

75. I have no idea.

What is low end steak? chuck steak? round steak?

[eShirl]

78. "Beef Chuck Shoulder Steak For London Broil"

cut into cubes and frozen in marinade, we'll thaw some once a week to stir fry with onion & green pepper until it's gone (maybe 1 1/2 months)

[blueamy66]

84. sounds good to me

nt

[Bill McBlueState]

77. I often wonder

who these people are who stand around cataloging what the person in front of them buys and how he pays for it. Don't you have your own business to mind?

[Recursion]

79. In supermarkets it's hard to tell; in convenience stores there's a separate swipe machine

Which involves taking the clerk and the shopper to the other end of the counter (so, yes, I'm one of those easily-irritated people who doesn't like waiting in line, I guess). And, yes, I'll confess to rolling my eyes when somebody pays for junk food with EBT and then buys scratch off tickets with cash. Then again, when I didn't have a bank account (spent 2 years without one -- absolutely sucks) it was hard to figure out what to do with my money and I did stupid things with it too.

But, that rant aside, in a lot of small stores you can tell the person in front of you is using SNAP benefits because he and the clerk had to walk over to the other scanner.

[blueamy66]

87. and cigarettes and beer

if you can't afford food, you most certainly can't afford those other luxuries...especially when you have kids in tow

JMHO

[blueamy66]

86. Naw...I'm kinda bored in a grocery line...like to look around...

I can always spot an EBT card.

And people in the Express lane paying with both WIC and EBT. 2 separate transactions....don't get into the Express lane....

But hey, I'm sure that you have your OWN business to attend to as well. So don't worry about me, k?

[etherealtruth]

92. That's been my question

... what kind of person monitors what other shoppers are purchasing and what they are purchasing it with ....? I can barely monitor my own purchases (especially with teens in tow)

I'm waiting for the idiots to chime in with their chorus of: I know "welfare recipients" that live solely on Ding Dongs, Doritos ... and of course fillet (because we all know recipients get the big bucks).

[blueamy66]

97. Me

I have no children....have nothing else to do but watch what crap people are buying....and then when they pay with the EBT card...that's another story.

Why are all of you people defending the purchase of EXPENSIVE CRAP FOOD on our tax dollars?

Hey, I feel for the poor and the unemployed...you all know that we pay alot of child support...I watch my pennies...we work alot of hours to pay our bills....yet I see over and over again....people using EBT cards to buy "better" food than I do.

You people really cannot understand my point of view? Really?

[eShirl]

99. For all you know they are stretching this "better" food out over the month with cheap fillers.

Maybe you should follow them home and find out.

[blueamy66]

101. I can't afford the gas to do that.

Sorry.

[blueamy66]

109. Naw....can't afford to waste the gas

nt

[etherealtruth]

107. I work very hard for my money

I feel we provide the poorest among us with very little ... I don't begrudge anyone the smallest of life's pleasures ... I really don't have time to monitor anyone else's buying habits and can't imagine that i would if I did have time.

[blueamy66]

108. Good answer.

I may have to reconsider my thought processes....

[muffin1]

102. T-bone steaks? Hmm...

and they drive those Cadillacs, too...:eyes:

People who are on food stamps have it bad enough. Believe me, I'm sure the vast majority of them would trade places with you in a hot minute. I couldn't care less if a person that bad off wants to treat himself to a steak from time to time.

I'll save my outrage for people like the Wall Street criminals.

[ohheckyeah]

47. Oh for

Christ's sake. What is it with all these authoritarian control freaks who want to save people from themselves?

[Recursion]

54. Call it the dark side of the Progressive movement

Yes, it brought us abolition and women's suffrage, but it also brought us prohibition.

[blueamy66]

74. I don't care to save people from themselves.

I just think it sucks that those on the dole buy shit that I cannot afford....after working 50 hours weeks.

[ohheckyeah]

90. So, you don't really give a shit about

their health, you're just mad that you can't afford the stuff that is bad for your health? And you're envious of people on food stamps, not knowing just how bad their situation may be?

[blueamy66]

95. Quit putting words into my mouth.

I'm sure that all working people are a bit miffed when someone buys expensive items with their EBT card....items that those working people cannot afford.

It's human nature....

[ohheckyeah]

96. Really?

I never notice what people purchase or whether or not they are using an EBT card. Guess I'm inhuman.

[blueamy66]

98. So, what do you do in line?

Count your pennies? Read a magazine and then put it back? Sing songs?

I'm pretty sure 90% of people watch the transaction in front of them.....Bet if someone was writing a check you'd be all over it. :-)

[eShirl]

100. I usually turn around and stare at the busybody behind me who's eyeballing everyone's transactions.

[ohheckyeah]

106. I mind my own business in line. n/t

[WinkyDink]

51. Yes, why CAN'T Food Stamp recipients be ROLE MODELS? No Coke OR Petsi!

[Recursion]

53. Well, come on, the question is should public money be going to PepsiCo

SNAP benefits can't be used to buy red wine, which is far and away better for you than soda.

[WinkyDink]

59. True enough (red wine). But I still think there's a strong punitive element, not health-oriented,

in these types of proposals.

As for "public money going to PepsiCo": Same thing as going to General Mills, Campbell's Soups, or any other conglomerate.

Yesterday I bought Haricots Vert from....Guatemala. Can't always help US farmers even WITH buying fresh produce.

[Recursion]

65. Well, there's a left-wing and right-wing version of this, like pornography bans

It does make for strange bedfellows. On the right, you have people who are incredibly resentful of nutrition assistance and want the people on it to have as spartan a diet as possible (as a kid I had people bitch that I was getting oranges and pears on WIC -- I didn't get into the fact that my mom ate baloney every. single. day.) On the left, you have people who feel like bodega owners and soda bottlers are using the poor and nutritionally insecure as a cash cow and taking advantage of them.

Like I said at another point in this thread, while I'm not particularly offended or horrified by the ban I also think it's kind of silly and not politically worth it, just "feel good" politics for various constituencies on both sides. I don't think it's morally culpable to support it I just think it's not worth spending a lot of effort on -- Pepsi will find other ways to siphon poor people's money.

[sammytko]

80. corn is subsidized, so fed money is already paying for some of the

ingredients in Pepsi via corn syrup. Top five are wheat, corn, rice, soybeans and cotton. Lots of food we eat is subsidized in one way or the other.

[Recursion]

81. Yep. Ask yourself why you can buy a cheeseburger for $1

Every single aspect of food in the US is subsidized in one way or another.

[sammytko]

83. we are all on food stamps - so those who look down on food stamp users

get off that high horse!

[Modern_Matthew]

63. Good. I have the luxury of purchasing soft drinks...

I don't expect someone needing assistance to be treated any differently.

I don't even care if that's not the reason this was rejected. All that matters to me is that it was rejected.

[AverageJoe90]

64. As a REAL(i.e. not like Ron Paul)libertarian, I agree with this.............

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

82. Well, we all know that poor people are too stupid to shop for themselves.

Let them eat beansprouts and drink rose-hip tea.

[etherealtruth]

91. I am glad it was rejected

I despise soda ... and can't understand its draw; however, I find attempts to control the choices of folk that are in need offensive.

If you are on food stamps (or whatever the name of the current incarnation) it is no more my business what you purchase than it is your business what I purchase.

[DainBramaged]

104. GOOD LET THEM HAVE SODA!!!!!!!

Let them be in control of their OWN BODIES.


Olive Garden, AppleBees, Cigarettes, breastfeeding, circumcision, narwhals, pit bulls, smoking bans, Spitzer, High school bands and soda pop

kids on planes drinking caffeine, bombing the moon, tax fast food, Rapture, PETA, screaming kids in restaurants

Vaccinations, orange juice, Jessie James, Ipads, Michael Vicks, Octomom, unicorns and Charlie Sheen, now the Weiner's gone.

[eShirl]

110. you ought to set that post to Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire"

:evilgrin: :headbang:

[Lyric]

112. They can buy Koolaid and sugar. They can buy tea bags and sugar.

They can buy cola syrup (or any OTHER flavor syrup) and sparkling water and make their OWN pop. These are all "sugary" drinks, and all are available AFTER such a ban is implemented. In fact, at corner grocery stores where they often still ring things up by hand, pop/soda just gets rung up as "grocery"...and anything rung up as grocery is Food Stamp eligible.

So WHY does it make any sense to waste money trying to pass a "ban" that ends up being pretty much useless? It's nothing more than punishment and public shaming.

I've used Food Stamps to purchase pop. Rarely, yes, because we don't really DRINK that stuff...but I got two 3-liter bottles of generic cola for my little boy's 9th birthday party a couple of years ago. It was a treat. I also bought (*gasp*) a BIRTHDAY CAKE MIX and FROSTING and even a half-gallon of ICE CREAM! I know, I know...god, how shameful. But you know what? If you think that poor kids don't deserve to have treats on their birthdays, then FUCK YOU VERY MUCH. Thank God New York had better sense than this bullshit.

:rant: