In the Shopping Cart of a Food Stamp Household: Lots of Soda

[Orrex]

124. You'd be ok with dietary restrictions for people who claim the mortgage credit?

If so, then at least you're consistent about it.

Of course, SNAP also carries a ton of restrictions already. For instance, your income can't exceed a certain level or you lose eligibility. You can't use SNAP to buy food at venues that don't accept SNAP for purchases. You can't buy certain foods at venues that otherwise do accept SNAP for purchases. You have to complete a laborious semi-annual review process to confirm eligibility. The list goes on.

SNAP is given for food purchases under tight restrictions. If a SNAP recipient wants to buy soda or cake or candy bars with it, then that's up to them. For that matter, SNAP recipients still have the option to use cash to buy whatever food they wish, even if they're holding a SNAP card at the time. If some nearby busybody wants to stick his nose in someone else's transaction, then that's the busybody's problem.

If the list of allowed foods is changed, then obviously SNAP recipients will no longer be able to use those benefits to buy such foods. But if we're going to pretend that "we don't want to pay for their soda" or whatever, then let's apply that restriction to all recipients of all government aid. Including social security, while we're at it.

As for anyone who thinks that SNAP beneficiaries have an easy time of it, I encourage those high-minded individuals to trade circumstances with the recipient for a few years. Chances are good that even those high-minded individuals will eventually slip up and buy something more extravagant than gruel and potted meat.


And, there's always this little reminder: