Arkansas Lawmaker Plans to Ban Junk Food from Food Stamp Purchases

[Captain N]

I feel like a better question is why the hell we're willing to subsidize these shitty companies that won't pay their workers a living wage.

Because we have people in our population who believe that those in unfortunate circumstances are always at fault for their situation. As long as those people continue to push for stricter rules and heavier punishments on the working poor the situation will never get better.

[Spectral]

Yeah I know Spectral...You did it so everyone can do it. You've been quite clear in your analogies...Bootstraps Bootstraps Bootstraps!

A 30 minute commute between jobs is a long commute? Christ man is there nothing you won't claim is different for other people than yourself?

The one hour on the back end was the long part. I mean, you cooked up a scenario that's pretty uncommon in general. If the stereotype of the lazy welfare recipient is absurd and relatively uncommon, no more absurd and uncommon is the working 60 hours/week, commuting everywhere just to stay afloat welfare recipient.

The median is a lot more ordinary - decent person, can't really seem to find a job that's particularly good, works somewhere between part-time and full-time and would take good full-time work if they could get it. This doesn't make much of a scapegoat or hero though, so it's mostly not bandied about.

On the topic of my commute, that's not really the point, but I suppose it's worth mentioning that I work quite a lot, travel heavily for work, and yet don't find myself all that short on time for leisure activities. Either I'm a magician or it's actually not that hard even if you work a lot.

I was responding to a time issue nothing else -- But apparently you're arguing that people spending an hour to relax, take a shower, cook dinner, and eat is somehow a ludicrous claim. Once more not everyone is you...people do things differently than you do.

Please stop making up arguments that nobody as arguing about. The point was about timing and not as some replacement to SNAP benefits.

The time issue is pretty obviously not the case for most people. The average person watches more TV than the average SNAP recipient works. OK, there are relatively rare exceptions where someone has hit the platonic ideal of working hard but never getting ahead, but much more common is someone that doesn't really work much, watches a ton of TV, and is basically fat and sedentary.

[unfilteredJW]

All these threads ever amount to is reminding me I forgot to spit on a poor person on my walk to work today.

[Spectral]

Most urban waterways aren't fit to fish from. You cannot (or at least, you really, really shouldn't) eat those fish.

I don't think "most" is accurate. I don't know the percentage. I've already repeatedly caveated that this is obviously locale based. Googling a bit, I can't really seem to find any sort of reliable data on the frequency with which it's OK to eat things, so I can only really go based on local reports from the lakes I live near now and growing up; anecdotes aren't very reliable though, so maybe "most" is correct and I'm just ignorant about the broader scope of things.

And I fished a lot when I was younger. I never caught that many fish in that amount of time. You're really underestimating the amount of time it would take to catch that many fish.

I'm far from a master fisherman and have definitely caught that number in that amount of time. Likewise, I've caught a half dozen bass in about ten minutes. Of course, not every day works out like that, but catching a lot of fish in a short period of time isn't really all that weird. For bigger fish, it's obviously a purely hit or miss thing - get one walleye and you're good for the day. If you don't, well, I guess you're not.

[Kraenen]

All these threads ever amount to is reminding me I forgot to spit on a poor person on my walk to work today.

Maybe exercise your enlightened sense of wisdom and realize that's not what's happening in this thread.

[Spectral]

Let's start with the corn subsidies first then we can start talking about penalizing citizens.

I agree regarding corn subsidies.

No one's talking about "penalizing" anyone though. The suggested policy is to give people the exact same amount of money for food as they've ever received, but allocate it to different foods.

Do you feel that people being given money are being penalized if they can't buy the snacks they want the most? If so, would you say that increasing income taxes "penalizes" W-2 earners? If not, what would you say is the difference between the two?

[tehdef]

Not just junk food but regular unhealthy food too. I remember eating tons of pasta as a kid when i was on food stamps, because that shit is insanely cheap for how many meals it makes but its VERY unhealthy.

Every morning I have a protein shake with oats, banana and peanut butter. For lunch, I usually eat some whole wheat, with tuna or the like. For dinner I will head towards Brown Rice or Whole Wheat Pasta with veggies like zucchini and the like, with a sauce and 1 protein.

I consume ~400g of carbs per day.

I also work out 3 days then 1 day of rest. I'm 6'2 and I weight 185, in the 15% body fat area.

Please, tell me again how carbs are unhealthy.

What's unhealthy is not exercising.

[Zan15]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm..._medium=social

Once again another step in the right direction by Republican states. As always. I have been equalily pissed off and horrified seeing People with EBT cards purchasing junk food, extravagant foods and even alcohol , things I might splurge on once or twice a year. I don't work my ass off for anyone else to enjoy the fruits of my labor, yet some.people with EBT eat better than I do because of how much I am taxed. Use the bar code system to limit what can be bought with EBT. Government moochers are a cancer.

i doubt for 190 bucks a month, 6 dollars a day....they are eating better then you.


Also what makes you think these people did not pay into the system for 30 years, way more then you have...and now because they were laid off are getting food stamps which you did not pay for, they paid for themselves by working? Most people who collect FS also work and pay taxes


btw you can't buy booze.....


and lobster is now cheaper by the pound then meat.

soda is cheaper then water by the bottle.

[Deleted]

If they want to solve the problem they should work first on lowering the price of healthy and fresh foods and increasing the prices of junk food. The reason why foodstamp people buy junk food is because the healthy alternative is too costly and it wouldn't even cover them 2 weeks. IF the republicans had any form of a brain and ability to do research, they would know that this measurement isn't going to solve anything.

[Tijuana]

If they want to solve the problem they should work first on lowering the price of healthy and fresh foods and increasing the prices of junk food. The reason why foodstamp people buy junk food is because the healthy alternative is too costly and it wouldn't even cover them 2 weeks. IF the republicans had any form of a brain and ability to do research, they would know that this measurement isn't going to solve anything.

Good idea, Comrade. Yeah, no.

[Kraenen]

If they want to solve the problem they should work first on lowering the price of healthy and fresh foods and increasing the prices of junk food. The reason why foodstamp people buy junk food is because the healthy alternative is too costly and it wouldn't even cover them 2 weeks. IF the republicans had any form of a brain and ability to do research, they would know that this measurement isn't going to solve anything.

It really isn't expensive to buy some rice and a whole chicken (use all the pieces, freeze it, soup it, etc), along with eggs, toastbread, peanut butter, etc. That lasts quite a while too. I dunno it varies by region, am I really that off?

[Spectral]

The reason why foodstamp people buy junk food is because the healthy alternative is too costly and it wouldn't even cover them 2 weeks.

There's not a shred of evidence this is true. If you truly believe that it's true, you should welcome a ban on using SNAP to purchase frivolous goods like potato chips that have nearly little nutritional content and are fairly expensive - that way these poor folks won't get caught in that trap.

[Imonaboat13]

There's not a shred of evidence this is true. If you truly believe that it's true, you should welcome a ban on using SNAP to purchase frivolous goods like potato chips that have nearly little nutritional content and are fairly expensive - that way these poor folks won't get caught in that trap.

There is no evidence that healthy foods are more expensive than junk food?
Have you never been to a grocery store?

[KevtheWise]

There is no evidence that healthy foods are more expensive than junk food?
Have you never been to a grocery store?

Healthy food can be cheaper...if you're willing to cook for it.

[TirielWoW]

I don't think "most" is accurate. I don't know the percentage. I've already repeatedly caveated that this is obviously locale based. Googling a bit, I can't really seem to find any sort of reliable data on the frequency with which it's OK to eat things, so I can only really go based on local reports from the lakes I live near now and growing up; anecdotes aren't very reliable though, so maybe "most" is correct and I'm just ignorant about the broader scope of things.

"US government scientists tested fish in 291 streams around the country for mercury contamination. They found mercury in every fish tested, according to the study by the U.S. Department of the Interior. They found mercury even in fish of isolated rural waterways. Twenty-five percent of the fish tested had mercury levels above the safety levels determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for people who eat the fish regularly."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

This is just for Ohio: http://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/fishadvisory/index.aspx
Here's West Virginia: http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/Current_Advisories.asp
Here's Louisiana: http://new.dhh.louisiana.gov/assets/...sories2016.pdf

I've looked through several more. Essentially, you shouldn't be eating sport fish you've caught more than once or twice a week. In many places, once a week max is what is recommended, due to mercury and other contaminates.

I'm far from a master fisherman and have definitely caught that number in that amount of time. Likewise, I've caught a half dozen bass in about ten minutes. Of course, not every day works out like that, but catching a lot of fish in a short period of time isn't really all that weird. For bigger fish, it's obviously a purely hit or miss thing - get one walleye and you're good for the day. If you don't, well, I guess you're not.

I just find that really hard to believe. Maybe you live in a place with an abundance of fish? The only time I've ever caught that level of fish is when they were swarming near the shoreline in the lake that was down the hill from my house. Otherwise, we'd catch some fish, but we'd be there all day to get 10 or so of the right size to keep.

[Spectral]

There is no evidence that healthy foods are more expensive than junk food?
Have you never been to a grocery store?

This may come as a surprise, but I have indeed been at grocery stores. I've even purchased and consumed things! My experience is that I can buy a day's worth of chicken or pork, rice, and frozen veggies for about the cost of chips and dip. If I go across the street, I can get chicken thighs or pork steak for about $2/pound and the other items are really cheap. If I'm feeling a bit less lazy, grabbing lettuce, tomato, and onion to make a salad is ~$1.50 for a family-size salad. A bag of chips is usually ~$3 and dips are usually similar.

People that claim healthy food is expensive seem to be spending a lot of time fussing about grass-fed bison and organic quinoa. That stuff's fine, but you'll do OK with some pork, rice, broccoli, and a salad.

[TirielWoW]

This may come as a surprise, but I have indeed been at grocery stores. I've even purchased and consumed things! My experience is that I can buy a day's worth of chicken or pork, rice, and frozen veggies for about the cost of chips and dip. If I go across the street, I can get chicken thighs or pork steak for about $2/pound and the other items are really cheap. If I'm feeling a bit less lazy, grabbing lettuce, tomato, and onion to make a salad is ~$1.50 for a family-size salad. A bag of chips is usually ~$3 and dips are usually similar.

People that claim healthy food is expensive seem to be spending a lot of time fussing about grass-fed bison and organic quinoa. That stuff's fine, but you'll do OK with some pork, rice, broccoli, and a salad.

Where exactly do you live?

I wish prices were like that here.

[Spectral]

"US government scientists tested fish in 291 streams around the country for mercury contamination. They found mercury in every fish tested, according to the study by the U.S. Department of the Interior. They found mercury even in fish of isolated rural waterways. Twenty-five percent of the fish tested had mercury levels above the safety levels determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for people who eat the fish regularly."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_in_fish

This is just for Ohio: http://epa.ohio.gov/dsw/fishadvisory/index.aspx
Here's West Virginia: http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/Current_Advisories.asp
Here's Louisiana: http://new.dhh.louisiana.gov/assets/...sories2016.pdf

I've looked through several more. Essentially, you shouldn't be eating sport fish you've caught more than once or twice a week. In many places, once a week max is what is recommended, due to mercury and other contaminates.



I just find that really hard to believe. Maybe you live in a place with an abundance of fish? The only time I've ever caught that level of fish is when they were swarming near the shoreline in the lake that was down the hill from my house. Otherwise, we'd catch some fish, but we'd be there all day to get 10 or so of the right size to keep.

I guess I thought "one or twice per week" was consistent with "supplement a diet". Sorry if I sucked at language (no snark).

Yeah, that's plausible. I don't fish a ton, my wife's into a lot more and seems to have more dry runs. It just seems like we either get damned near no bites or all of the bites and fill a bucket up quick if we're in the right spot.

- - - Updated - - -

Where exactly do you live?

I wish prices were like that here.

I'd rather not say, although some people can probably figure it out pretty easily. A mid-size mid-western city.

FWIW, it seems like the national averages are pretty consistent with the numbers I had in my head for chicken, but higher for beef and pork. Here's the BLS data on it for all urban and mid-western urban areas. They've got whole chicken legs at $1.60/pound. For some reason, pork chops are $3.80/pound and I know I usually pay $2/pound for "pork steak", although this is likely because I pretty much only buy things that are on sale. The beef looks really expensive, but again, maybe that's because I basically only buy things are on sale - obviously that's not a viable strategy for all people. I grabbed strip steaks yesterday at $6/pound, but YMMV *shrug*

[TirielWoW]

I guess I thought "one or twice per week" was consistent with "supplement a diet". Sorry if I sucked at language (no snark).

Some fish even say you shouldn't eat them more than once a month, which kinda disturbs me because I had no idea that our water was this contaminated (and it may not be - apparently it just builds up in fish the way it builds up in us so they get contaminated even in relatively "clean" water).

Also, I can't find the article right now, but I recall reading an article about a year ago where environmental scientists were saying they were concerned about certain populations of people - primarily Vietnamese and Thai immigrants - who fish for food on a continuous basis because that's their culture. They were concerned because of the contamination, mind you, and it was one of those things where they couldn't convince them to stop fishing, because that's just what they do to supplement their diets, but the concern is that it was probably harming them long-term.

Yeah, that's plausible. I don't fish a ton, my wife's into a lot more and seems to have more dry runs. It just seems like we either get damned near no bites or all of the bites and fill a bucket up quick if we're in the right spot.

It can depend on season, too. It's basically impossible to get fish to bite in the winter. They're all asleep!

- - - Updated - - -

I'd rather not say, although some people can probably figure it out pretty easily. A mid-size mid-western city.

FWIW, it seems like the national averages are pretty consistent with the numbers I had in my head for chicken, but higher for beef and pork. Here's the BLS data on it for all urban and mid-western urban areas. They've got whole chicken legs at $1.60/pound. For some reason, pork chops are $3.80/pound and I know I usually pay $2/pound for "pork steak", although this is likely because I pretty much only buy things that are on sale. The beef looks really expensive, but again, maybe that's because I basically only buy things are on sale - obviously that's not a viable strategy for all people. I grabbed strip steaks yesterday at $6/pound, but YMMV *shrug*

It was more what you were saying about salad mixes and stuff. I've honestly never seen any that cheap in the store in years. They're all about $3-5 each here. Meat sales vary.

[Drutt]

As always. I have been equalily pissed off and horrified seeing People with EBT cards purchasing junk food, extravagant foods and even alcohol , things I might splurge on once or twice a year.

If people on food stamps are eating more extravagantly then you despite you "working your ass off" then you need to seriously reassess your priorities.