Idiot Trump wants to turn Food Stamps into bad version of Amazon Groceries

Correct... limit foods to those that are healthier if the complaint is that people on food stamps are buying unhealthy food with their stamps. Folks can still use their own money to buy the other things.

Gee, if we only knew of anyone in government that was pushing that healthier foods were consumed...

 

I am not on food stamps, and I drink too many sodas (according to my doctor and wife). btw, what did the last paragraph of that article say?

 

Absolutely. It would be relatively simple to do that I would imagine, just like you can't use your card to buy certain things (pet food, cleaning supplies, booze, etc...) just add to that list.

Thanks for posting that article, the results really don't surprise me at all. I wonder how this:

Over all, the report found, SNAP households spent about 40 cents of every dollar at the grocery store on “basic items” like meat, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and bread. Another 40 cents of every dollar was spent on “cereal, prepared foods, dairy products, rice and beans.” Lastly, 20 cents of each dollar was spent on a broad category of junk foods that included “sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar.”

compares to the average US household?

I do not think this "one size fits all" solution, which also seems like a logistical and financial nightmare, is a good idea.

 

And I suppose they (grifting food stamp recipients) drive up in Cadillacs and wear expensive Nikes... gotta make sure to load up on as many right wing images as possible.

I think that if the problem is whether food stamp recipients are buying healthy or unhealthy foods is the major concern that initiated trump's bizarre "solution" thne there are better and more direct solutions... ie, dictating what foods can and cannot be purchased using food stamps?

For example, something like this list: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items

A simple fix would be to change the "Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items"

 

You are not going to "shop" around when you have a heart attack. Even if you shop around, good luck with getting the cost. You can forgo certain food, if it's too pricey. You can't forgo certain health procedure, whatever the cost. Well you can or have to and may end up disabled, out of work, and/or at the ER. Society end paying the cost of all those. Or maybe you just die.

 

I am actually not sure this is such a bad idea, maybe give several different package options to allow for variety. That is if it really does save a lot of tax dollars. Think of it as school lunch plus.

 

It said this...

"This is the first time we’ve had confirmation that this massive taxpayer program is promoting all the wrong kinds of foods,” she said. “I think we now have the data to back up the policy argument that this program needs to be improved.”



This paragraph was telling as well....


In 2014, a group of Stanford researchers studied 19,000 SNAP participants and compared whether banning sugary drinks or incentivizing fruits and vegetables would affect obesity rates. The researchers found that the incentive program would not. But banning sugary drinks from SNAP, they said, “would be expected to significantly reduce obesity prevalence and Type 2 diabetes incidence, particularly among ages 18 to 65 and some racial and ethnic minorities.”

 

Yeah, you have to take a lot of things into consideration: ethnic backgrounds, allergies (4% of Americans), personal tastes, etc.... This box proposal also only covers 50% of the benefits, the other half will be the same as it is now, with no restrictions stopping anyone from buying whatever crap foods they want. Also, canned fruits & veggies, while better than nothing, are not nearly as healthy as fresh, check out the added salt and sugar sometime.

How are they going to deliver these things? Mail or pickup? I can't imagine how many of these will be stolen if they're just left on doorsteps 1 day a month. I'd also imagine a bunch of people are unable to travel to a pickup location and lug a heavy ass box home with them. I'm also suspicious of the quality of the products they'll be receiving. In short, I have questions.

Great idea. This proposal does not address that at all, from what I've read.

 

Actually, you avoided the CORRECTION at the very end of the article. But no matter... here are key points: the study didn't break out sodas from other "sweetened beverages" that may have sugar in them. Beverages that include juices. Second, the article said at the one grocery chain that the study was based on, they didn't determine which food and beverages were purchased with food stamps or with the consumers own money. And that while SNAP recipients purchases "slightly more" junk food and less vegetables, that both SNAP and non-SNAP consumers buy too much unhealthy food.

If you read my other posts, you'd see I said that a more direct solution would be to change what food s can and can't be purchased with food stamps.

But is the purchasing of "sweetened beverages" really the driving force behind trump's plan to have boxed foods replace food stamps?

 

I'm actually in favor of converting food stamps into a dry goods delivery program.

Especially if it will shut conservatives up.

 

Don’t let them eat stakes!

 

Since the trump curated box meal program would have to be delivered on an on-going basis (weekly? monthly?) and thus would need to be packed and shipped to each of what, 42 million recipients? has anyone calculated the costs of packing and shipping alone?

 

That is why i said if is only viable if there are significant savings, some how I do not trust the numbers floated by the Trump administration, it will have to be outside independent groups that do the calculations before I would consider this.

 

The next important question... what do people on SNAP program do about meats, fruits, and vegetables that are not part of trump's curated box food programs. Do they pay for all these themselves (and how) or is there a second food stamp program to help those in need pay for the healthy parts of their diets?

 

So you think the marketplace for healthcare is reasonably efficient then? In general, I'm a big believer in markets. In fact, I don't want single payer here; I want a market restructuring that will make market forces work. But, if we do go single-payer, it can't be too hard for dumb bureaucrats to beat this market.

I understand that 99% of it is spent on steaks and lobster.

I believe the plan was that half of the SNAP benefit would come in this box, and the other half continues as before -- a SNAP card you can use at grocery stores.

Anyway, it sounds like this pitch went over about as well as the idea to privatize air traffic control (an idea I actually liked). So, I don't expect we'll have to worry.

 

and US farmer get the most government handouts out of everyone. Ya'll fell for this who poor people welfare narrative real quick.

 

Do I think the current marketplace for healthcare is reasonably efficient at this current time? No, of course not but it is not a true 100% open marketplace. Dumb bureaucrats are already effecting the free market. Putting requirements on the amount and what type of coverage a plan has to include is not a free market principle. The individual mandate is a not a free market principle. A truly free market would have very little government intervention. People could buy plans to fit their needs without the extra BS. Why does a single man need to buy a plan that covers a woman's gynecological needs? An open market would cause competition and drive prices lower. The government only needs to be involved to limit things that have an adverse effect on healthcare like initiating tort reform to limit punitive damages which will help to drive down the cost of malpractice insurance helping to lower medical cost and reduce unneeded test doctors order as a CYA.

 

YOU LIE!

Farmers are just good, hardworking, tax paying white folk who don't want a handout! They just want government to get out of there way and not to take the family farm in estate taxes when Papa Farmer dies!

 

A food delivery program ran by the government is a bad idea. I am not opposed to the option for a SNAP participant to subscribe to a food delivery program for non perishable goods.

What we should do is limit what can be bought with SNAP.

Of all the waste with taxes, SNAP is not a big concern of mine.

 

I actually think this was a gimmick that trump and his admin thought would distract people from the massive cuts they are trying to do across the entire safety net including social security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps. So while its fun to poke holes in the idea I really don't think there was any real thought behind it and as you said it really won't happen.