Iowa is one fucked up state (SNAP restrictions)

[Aviation Pro]

So, here's the link to the article on Iowa's Bloated Tick's proposal to severely limit what foods can be bought through SNAP. Now let's do some math.

250,000 Iowans are on food assistance.
90.1% of Iowa is white.

250,000 * .901 = x white people
x = 225,250 white people

Way to own your own, you fucking morons.

[underpants]

1. You eat your casserole just like we do there Mister!

The food list seemed to specifically be against Mexican food.

[Ms. Toad]

43. Go to the actual list.

It is a very limited list designed to provide supplemental nutrition for pregnant women and children.

And most casseroles won't fly either, since they are meat-based. Many casseroles also include generic white pasta - also a prohibited purchase. (Only whole grain pasta can be purchased).

But, contrary to your suggestion that it is biased against Mexican food, corn tortillas are allowed to be purchased.

This isn't a matter of being biased against a specific group. It is a matter of being lazy and trying to adopt an existing list of foods for a purpose for which it was never intended.

[pwb]

2. Since they are a taker state

this will save blue states money. Thing is we are not wanting such treatment of humans.

[usedtobedemgurl]

3. No canned veggies or fruit? No words! nt

[Cha]

4. Sadistic Tyrants... wtf business

is it of theirs what people eat who need Assistance!

[dem4decades]

5. Well as long as they fuck over a few people of color it will all be worth it.

[rogue emissary]

6. No American cheese.

[irisblue]

7. No cooking oil?

From the article... "Iowans on SNAP would not be able to buy meat, flour, butter, cooking oil, frozen prepared food," said Luke Elzinga, Chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition. "It's a huge list. Actually it's quicker to list what Iowans would still be able to buy with their SNAP benefits."

How can you scratch cook without cooking oil or butter?

Assholes

[Afrocat]

8. yea, but they are going to make sure those 15-20k brown people suffer

and that is what matters most to them.

Nose meet cleaver. Face, buddy, you're out of luck.

[Indykatie]

9. Iowa Has Morphed Into a Ruby Red Right Wing State

It was past time for Dems to move on from the IA Caucus to kick off the POTUS nomination cycle.

[rurallib]

14. we now envy Mississippi and Alabama

That's what we want to be now.

[Zambero]

10. Just to illustrate how far Iowa has fallen

In the 1988 presidential race, George H W. Bush took the national vote against Mike Dukakis by eight percentage points. Conversely, Dukakis carried Iowa 55-45, overperforming his share of the national vote by 18 percent. Iowa was considered blue-purple up until 2016, when Trump and Senate candidate Joni Ernst easily won their races there. Even states like Kansas and Kentucky will occasionally elect a Democrat to a statewide office. All of that seems to be in the rear view mirror in Iowa.

[Evolve Dammit]

11. Blunt force trauma to Americans in need. That's the Repuke party (or what's left of it). Punishment.

And for what? It's like Putin invading Ukraine. Punish and cause pain and suffering. Because they enjoy it.

[ificandream]

12. Reducing the amount of processed foods is commendable. But MEAT and CHEESE?

And given that Iowa is a farm state, wouldn't you want some of THOSE products made available?

Some really short-sided thinking here. I hope someone hits them back on this.

[niyad]

22. Are you okay with those hate-filled idiots dictating about processed foods?

How processed? Where does one draw the line?

[ificandream]

35. The article discussed what foods will and won't be allowed.

And the standard definition of processed foods would apply. But poultry and meat (I don't eat beef, myself) are unprocessed in many cases. (Fresh chicken, beef.) But it's strange they're allowing canned seafood since that is processed. (Tuna, for example, can have vegetable oil and high amounts of sodium. But yet vegetable oil is on the forbidden list.)

I'm not saying this bill is all good. It's not. If it adhered more strictly to the definition of allowing unprocessed foods, I would call that a healthy option. And those foods are also generally cheaper. But I also get that underlying idea of this is to screw the poor. So I hope there is either some major revision to this thing or forgetting about it altogether.

[Ms. Toad]

44. The ban in meat isn't related to processed foods.

It is that meat is not included in the existing list that are proposing be adopted, which was intended to supplement the diets of pregnant women and children (the WIC list).

It is a very limited list, and does not include fresh meats of any kind. A lot of it consists of baby food.

But, even if the list were actually healthier than standard American food, is it really appropriate to impose our version of what they should eat on people who are struggling enough to need basic assistance?

[ificandream]

50. No, it's not. I was just making a general reference to processed and unprocessed foods.

I agree that limiting people like this is almost totalitarian.

[Ms. Toad]

51. My concern is that limits like this are widely used to control the behavior of people

"we" perceive to be unable to control themselves. It's the nutritional equivalent of requiring people who show up for free meals to attend a bible study first.

[ificandream]

52. I agree.

I guess my discussion of processed vs. unprocessed foods made it sound like I was ok with this. I certainly see what they're trying to pull. Republican strategy is to fuck with anyone they can. They are evil.

[Crunchy Frog]

41. On the subject of processed foods and SNAP. I once had a severely debilitated 80+ woman

as a home care client. When I started with her, she had recently been in the hospital where she had nearly died because her eating and drinking had practically shut down. At the time she needed to be kept hydrated, but the only things she would drink were Swiss Miss cocoa, and Coke. She was also an extremely picky eater, and yes, most of what she ate was highly processed, and never would have made it onto this list, and yes, she got her food and drink with EBT.

Frankly, if I'm caring for a severely debilitated elderly person, I would rather have them eat and drink "unhealthy" processed stuff than be starved and dehydrated for the sake of someone else's sense of moral superiority.

This experience has made me strongly opposed to trying to restrict what people can get with EBT. That, and having been on it myself. That level of restriction simply can't accommodate the real needs of real people. And for some of those people it's literally a life and death issue.

[ificandream]

42. I agree with you.

I was only making a general argument. But, of course, if people need certain things, they should have them. And fuck DeSantis.

[obamanut2012]

45. What does DeSantis have to with Iowa?

[ificandream]

49. Ooops. Nothing. All this Republican bullshit is piling up too quickly. :)

Been discussing him too.

[Hortensis]

13. It IS both about "their own," though, AND about striking back at liberalism.

I quickly grabbed this from Britannica to help explain conservative temperament and the conservative belief in a natural order that they think liberal government interferes with, leading to corruption and decline of society.

I'm NOT posting an argument for the RW extremists who've gotten control of IA's government,. They're a different manifestation of societal corruption and decline and not competent to know how to be right.

A common way of distinguishing conservatism from liberalism is to say that conservatives reject the optimistic view that human beings can be morally improved through political and social change. ... Far from believing that human nature is essentially good or that human beings are fundamentally rational, conservatives tend to assume that human beings are driven by their passions and desires—and are therefore naturally prone to selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence.

Accordingly, conservatives look to traditional political and cultural institutions to curb humans’ base and destructive instincts. ... people need “a sufficient restraint upon their passions,” which is the office of government “to bridle and subdue.” Families, churches, and schools must teach the value of self-discipline, and those who fail to learn this lesson must have discipline imposed upon them by government and law.

Without the restraining power of such institutions, conservatives believe, there can be no ethical behaviour and no responsible use of liberty. ...

The belief in a natural order in which people who live deserving lives tend to be naturally rewarded with their benefits and people who live unworthy lives suffer the natural consequences is built into every culture and religion to various degrees. It's strongest in conservative cultures and religions, but present in all.

And of course it goes very wrong when taken beyond good sense and decency, as by today's RW extremists who've gotten control of many state governments. No coincidence that this doesn't just "own the libs" but leaves more wealth to divert to the wealthy.

But in any case, the supposed ideological basis for cutting back on these programs is to affirm and strengthen societal morality among Iowans, the 90% white definitely included. And to reject the corrupting influence of liberalism. Where the extremists are treading on dangerous ground is in ignoring that the "corruption" of liberalism is well instilled in most of their own RW voters, who believe in social net programs for "deserving poor" and sometimes even for less deserving. It's built into the society they grew up with and have always known, after all.

[Glaisne]

15. conservatives are the ones prone to selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence

"conservatives tend to assume that human beings are driven by their passions and desires—and are therefore naturally prone to selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence."

Conservatives believe that, because that's they way they are, so they assume it's true for humans in general when in fact it's not.

[Hortensis]

16. :) More for sure. We'll get to see how well the sheer meanness

and dysfunctionality of this (what are children supposed to feed themselves with?) plays out with Iowa's conservative and swing voters. Elections since 2016 seem to suggest the meanness of this era may have culminated during tRump's term and is lessening, at least among non-MAGAs.

Hopefully, this "No soup for you!" list will continue to draw disapproving attention to what they're up to over the next two years.

[vlyons]

18. "prone to selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence"

What they see is mere a reflection of their very own minds, because their point of view is thru a filter of selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence.

[Hortensis]

20. In a very real sense they do have a dark view of their own

character too and don't exempt themselves from the need for societal and religious controls. (Normal conservatives anyway. Authoritarian and extreme types are reportedly extremely lacking in self awareness and scarily unaccountable to self.)

I remember how surprised I was to learn that conservatives who seemed perfectly fine with kicking down at those lower on the social hierarchy also thought it was appropriate for them to be kicked down on by those above. (Huh?) Within reason: within the appropriateness conferred by the natural order of the hierarchy itself, NOT abuse inappropriate to deserving people like them.

Along the same lines, most strong conservatives are not egalitarian. They don't see equality as a "natural" right, so they don't see unequal treatment in itself as automatically unjust, or even necessarily inappropriate.

VERY different from liberal minds.

[PatrickforB]

17. How can someone elected to public office be so very, very cruel?

Why have Republicans become such horrible human beings? Why?

[Skittles]

26. they perform strictly for the cult now

the cruelty IS the point

keep in mind they still very much consider themselves to be CHRISTIANS

[Meadowoak]

19. Is it even legal? Can a state regulate a federal program?

This needs to be challenged.

[NullTuples]

33. Like Medicaid, perhaps the state gets block funding & decides how to spend it?

[obamanut2012]

46. It needs to be approved by the Feds

[niyad]

21. May all involved receive everything they deserve.

[LymphocyteLover]

24. that includes those making this law and those receiving the aid?

[niyad]

27. Yes.

[LymphocyteLover]

23. it's all about punishing the poor, because these Republicans are such good Christians

[progressoid]

25. As an Iowan, I can confirm this state is fucked up.

We used to be leaders in education. Not any more.

The corner of the state that once elected liberal Berkley Bedell went on to elect Steve King and now his mini me, Randy Feenstra.

If Obama were to run now, I doubt he would win in today's Iowa.

It's a fucking disgrace.

[Bettie]

37. It is and I have no idea what to do

to try to fix it anymore.

The local party gets no support from the state party, because they only care about margins in the larger cities.

There seems to be no way to make any headway.

I'm taking a break from local meetings right now, but I'll be back after my head is in a better place.

[progressoid]

38. I know what you mean.

I can barely get motivated to attend zoom meetings.

The last election was so lack luster. I'm afraid we lost a lot of motivation and involvement especially in our rural counties.

[sakabatou]

28. Way to make people starve, Iowa.

[NullTuples]

30. I still say this is an old-school Republican push for privatization. Preferably church-based.

Iowa has a LOT of private food banks, and a whole lot of them seem connected to Christian churches. The state took very seriously GW Bush's "Faith based Initiative (which has yet to be undone in our Federal government or funding)" to replace government social services to privately provided social services via churches and other Christian organizations.

[hauckeye]

31. It's not the Iowa I grew up in

I moved away in 1981. Growing up, we had moderate Republicans, and there were sometimes Democratic governors and senators. Now it's so far to the right I don't even recognize the state anymore.

[Bettie]

36. We moved here in 2002

It was about half and half, Democrats/Republicans. The R's weren't nutjobs.

That changed after Barack Obama was elected twice and a whole bunch of people lost their fucking minds and went whole hog for that horrible orange thing.

[Elessar Zappa]

39. But didn't Iowa vote for Obama?

Or am I misremembering?

[Bettie]

40. Yes, twice

and after that, they went hard right.

[Harker]

32. No spices.

That says a lot.

[obamanut2012]

47. Not even salt or pepper are allowed

[Harker]

48. That's punitive, surely.

If you're in financial difficulty, you mustn't enjoy it.

[tenderfoot]

34. People in fly over country seem to not to care about people in fly over country either

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