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Forums - Politics Discussion - 1/4 of American kids on food stamps! USA a-ok?

 

Should we have tighter restrictions on what poor can buy?

yes 34 41.46%
 
no 29 35.37%
 
I am rich and they paid f... 19 23.17%
 
Total:82
LemonSlice on 10 January 2013
fordy said:
I don't know what it's like there, but healthy food generally costs quite a bit more than eating junk food. However, making healthy food yourself is a viable, cost-effective option.

What saddens me is so many just take the lazy, cheap junk food option, where one contributes to the other (ie. Junk food can be known to promote lethargy, which in turn encourages the purchase of more quick-to-make junk food the next time).

The only way I can see out of it is to regulate food stamps for healthy food only. However, there will always be circumvention somewhere. It's nearly impossible to keep an eye on.

Terrible, terrible idea. But hippies would love it.

Junk food is delicious, and won't kill you in moderation.



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Max King of the Wild on 10 January 2013
LemonSlice said:
fordy said:
I don't know what it's like there, but healthy food generally costs quite a bit more than eating junk food. However, making healthy food yourself is a viable, cost-effective option.

What saddens me is so many just take the lazy, cheap junk food option, where one contributes to the other (ie. Junk food can be known to promote lethargy, which in turn encourages the purchase of more quick-to-make junk food the next time).

The only way I can see out of it is to regulate food stamps for healthy food only. However, there will always be circumvention somewhere. It's nearly impossible to keep an eye on.

Terrible, terrible idea. But hippies would love it.

Junk food is delicious, and won't kill you in moderation.


but thats the thing. the people getting junk food don't do it in moderation. Besides, they arent paying for the food. I don't know why on earth they are allowed more than bread, milk, beans, cheerios, eggs, peanut butter, frozen fruits and veggies.



fordy on 10 January 2013
LemonSlice said:
fordy said:
I don't know what it's like there, but healthy food generally costs quite a bit more than eating junk food. However, making healthy food yourself is a viable, cost-effective option.

What saddens me is so many just take the lazy, cheap junk food option, where one contributes to the other (ie. Junk food can be known to promote lethargy, which in turn encourages the purchase of more quick-to-make junk food the next time).

The only way I can see out of it is to regulate food stamps for healthy food only. However, there will always be circumvention somewhere. It's nearly impossible to keep an eye on.

Terrible, terrible idea. But hippies would love it.

Junk food is delicious, and won't kill you in moderation.


That's the problem. It's the few that abuse things that make the majority suffer. bits of junk food are fine, but a constant stream of it can cause serious problems.

4 years ago (when I weighed 156kg), I'd agree that junk food is delicious. Today, I'm 90kg and I can't go back to eating junk food, because I found that nothing compares to healthy, fresh food if cooked right. It was all a state of mind (and a fear that healthy food could never taste as good as junk food), so I can argue that healthy food can taste just as good if done properly.



fordy on 10 January 2013

Over here, we add incentive to healthy food by exempting it from the GST. There are no food stamps here, but perhaps something similar can be done to achieve a compromise.

For instance, have food classifications and different kind of foodstamps. Foodstamps under, for example, class A can only buy fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Class B could be stuff like Bread, Eggs, etc. A higher classification foodstamp (like junk food "C") can substitute when buying class "B" or "A" products, but not the opposite. Finally, regulate the foodstamps so like 90% are class A or B, and the remainder are class C.

Just a thought...



LemonSlice on 10 January 2013

Well, I need the carbs, I don't care where they come from. I think I eat an abhorrent amount of food. I also were never fat, guess I'm not the type. I do have high cholesterol though, so I guess you have a point.

But if it's not junk food it's usually BBQ. I do eat lots of veggies, but they're only ever on the side plate.



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fordy on 10 January 2013
LemonSlice said:

Well, I need the carbs, I don't care where they come from. I think I eat an abhorrent amount of food. I also were never fat, guess I'm not the type. I do have high cholesterol though, so I guess you have a point.

But if it's not junk food it's usually BBQ. I do eat lots of veggies, but they're only ever on the side plate.


Haha I really hate people who get to eat all they want and not gain a pound. So unfair :P

But you raise another good point, which is what amount of carbs are tolerable? The answer would be dependant on the person. Personally, I have to have little to no carbs in order to maintain my current weight.

What do BBQs there involve? A simple barbie here just involves cooking the meat outdoors as opposed to indoors. I couldn't see the unhealthy side of that, unless it involved lots of BBQ sauce..



Max King of the Wild on 10 January 2013
fordy said:
LemonSlice said:

Well, I need the carbs, I don't care where they come from. I think I eat an abhorrent amount of food. I also were never fat, guess I'm not the type. I do have high cholesterol though, so I guess you have a point.

But if it's not junk food it's usually BBQ. I do eat lots of veggies, but they're only ever on the side plate.


Haha I really hate people who get to eat all they want and not gain a pound. So unfair :P

But you raise another good point, which is what amount of carbs are tolerable? The answer would be dependant on the person. Personally, I have to have little to no carbs in order to maintain my current weight.

What do BBQs there involve? A simple barbie here just involves cooking the meat outdoors as opposed to indoors. I couldn't see the unhealthy side of that, unless it involved lots of BBQ sauce..


Exactly, pulled pork smothered in BBQ sauce, beef brisket smothered in BBQ sauce, and ribs smothered in BBQ sauce.

Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and brats... (only sometimes smothered in BBQ but not usually)



NintendoPie on 10 January 2013

"USA a-ok?"
Welllllllll, no. We aren't. We haven't been a-ok for awhile now.



SvennoJ on 10 January 2013
fordy said:

Over here, we add incentive to healthy food by exempting it from the GST. There are no food stamps here, but perhaps something similar can be done to achieve a compromise.

For instance, have food classifications and different kind of foodstamps. Foodstamps under, for example, class A can only buy fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. Class B could be stuff like Bread, Eggs, etc. A higher classification foodstamp (like junk food "C") can substitute when buying class "B" or "A" products, but not the opposite. Finally, regulate the foodstamps so like 90% are class A or B, and the remainder are class C.

Just a thought...

Or you can scrap foodstamps and replace them with food banks. That would create some jobs, provide a place to donate food and money too on a community level, and they can make bulk deals buying food to distribute amongst the most needy.



timmah on 10 January 2013

Recently saw a woman buying lobster and steak with food stamps as she had a conversation with her friend behind the counter about how it was so great she could make an expensive dinner now that her food stamp card was refilled, she then proceeded to spend her own money on her 'regular' food. She left, got in her brand new Dodge Charger and drove off. Bullcrap. Yes, it should only be for necessities for people who really need it. Or better yet, support food banks instead.