In my home state of VA I know that you can only use food stamps to buy unprocessed food. No chips. No sandwiches. No cakes. No soda. You can buy flour, eggs, milk, etc to make your own cake, but you can't buy processed food. I'd imagine it's the same in most other states.

In general, we need to encourage people to buy healthier food. I've often thought a tiered food tax should be used. Use a negative food tax for whole foods (fruits and veggies for instance), a low tax for moderately processed stuff (bread for instance) and a higher tax for outright unhealthy stuff (soda, ho-hos, candy).

Milton Friedman came up with that one, I believe it was talking about income taxes at the time.

But it's a good idea I think. You set up a tax structure so that the negative tax would actually reduce the cost of things that you wish people would consume more. It could be made budget neutral if done correctly.

The problem is that the Agriculture Dept. has used a verity of subsidies that keep the price of corn artificially low. They also keep the price of sugar high. So, therefore we get high frutose corn syrup, which I think studies have conclusively shown by now is very hazardious to your health.

Now our problem is with obesity, so we ought to use our tax structure to give people the incentives to buy healthier food.

Besides, it could be the first step of getting off from welfare and food stamps, since marriage improves one's economic situation. There are many more people living in poverty, who are from broken homes than unbroken.

But in the end, I do think food-stamps should be used for unprocessed foods, so I agree with you there. Just don't think a wedding cake here or there is a big deal.

You can buy WEDDING CAKES with them! I mean really!

It was bad enough that chips and soda pop and birthday cakes and so much non-nutritious stiff can be bought with them, but wedding cakes?

Since when aren't they used for GOOD stuff, like fruits and veggies, and dairy and protein?!

Sheesh!



-- Modified on 2/15/2011 7:32:49 AM

and you can't put the straw in the soda cup, but yes, you can buy all that here.

Sounds like it's managed differently in different states. I thought it was a fed program, with the same rules everywhere.

-- Modified on 2/15/2011 7:41:35 AM

-- Modified on 2/15/2011 7:46:05 AM

The enforcement is at the cashier level. They are not picky and if you are a regular, or have something ethnically in common, the sky is the limit.

it's already-made birthday cakes and chips and pop, too. It's snacks and candy bars, it's energy drinks and packages of Hamburger Helper and other "extenders." It's usually basically "food" (which isn't food in my book, but processed food "stuff" made of chemicals) that I see bought every day. If the carts were full of the staples (think the basic food groups), I don't think I'd be quite so annoyed, but this "stuff" fills at least half the carts.

Mattradd, wedding cakes cost upward of $500 in the grocery store alone. And they're using food stamps for it. That's funds that could have been feeding the family properly.

But if they do get married, I'm OK with them buying (or food-stamping as it were) a few Twinkies, Dolly Madisons or Little Debbies.

Fed's sets up what one can buy and not buy.

Buying healthy food is grand idea but you have to realize they are trying stretch the $ to keep their stomach partially full.

It is not $1000 dollars worth of food stamps a week so they can Organic Food.

I used to work at retail store to get me through college. It sold both food and just about any other item you could want. I had multiple people come through my line and get two purchases. The first was some food they bought with their food stamps card. The other was a $1000+ wide screen TV. Am I missing the point of food stamps?

I know it's a Fed-funded program. but apparently the states have a lot of leeway on how to distribute them and what can be bought. I also understand stretching the $ to eat, but cake and chips and soda is not the way to go about it. They don't have to eat organic to benefit, but they should be cooking and eating FOOD, not the crap.

"The Nanny State," to take over.

You can't expect people to watch their afternoon soaps and game shows on a crappy TV.  What's wrong with you?  I hope they are getting 3D.

Honestly, if you want a clearer picture of food stamps do this;

Find out when they are handed out (cards recharged here in MA).
Go to the cheapest supermarket in a low income area, get there early.
Watch the families rush the store.

Are there assholes out there abusing the program, of coarse, always will be, but there are allot of people that need them.

Do we have to cut the program to save money?  Maybe, however I would like it to be the last.  
Also keep in mind this is just cutting federal money, people are still going to have to eat.  
Most likely what will happen is the states will have to increase their spending (and there for taxes) to make up for the losses.

I think it will cost about $75b this year. Guess who profits most from this program? Hint: The food industry!

The food industry does profit, but the poor industry profits more than the food industry.