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[–] WillinglyFallible 2 points 33 points (+35|-2) ago 

Good on fucking Maine. It pisses me off seeing people at gas stations, spending my money on shit that will not get them off of the program.

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[–] Evileddie13 0 points 12 points (+12|-0) ago 

I have seen an entire FAMILY buy dinner at a gas station via food stamps. Coke, hot dogs, chips, nachos...etc. This is where the liberal/conservative argument breaks down for me. Companies, that REPUBLICANS SUPPORT, make money from stupid laws like this. Liberals sell the the lie that republicans make money from.

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[–] weezkitty 0 points 14 points (+14|-0) ago 

Liberals and conservatives love to point the finger at the other when they are both the problem in one way or another

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[–] cointelpro_shill 0 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago 

It pisses me off to see the gubmint being so generous to this corporate system that mass-produces obesity.

Problem with similar bills in other states is that they're trying to make it about all "luxury foods", like steak and seafood, rather than just soda and candy. Other states have withdrawn the bill for various reasons... lack of permission from the USDA being one of them. I think maybe they're in bed with the sugar dealers

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[–] SuperShak 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

It's a certainty

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[–] Hardgroveway 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Not to appear pedantic, but it's the corn dealers technically. Somebody that would lobby for soda/candy would be against sugar, you fucker. :D

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[–] perfectpencil 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

In all fairness, a salad or a snickers would not be the deciding factor for finding steady income. A thousand snickers or a thousands salads also wouldn't matter, either. A fat man can still hold a 100k/yr job. The one thing he has that someone on welfare doesn't are employable skills. If you want to hit the heart of the problem, that is where you go. It just gets complicated with everything revolving around facilitating that.

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[–] Lake ago 

But if you make these programs as least appealing as possible maybe some of these people will actually work on improving themselves

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[–] Freak_show 0 points 17 points (+17|-0) ago  (edited ago)

Good. Im a manager is a grocery store and I do have some great EBT Food (that's what the program is called here in NV) users who only buy what they need but the bulk buy shit. Cakes from the bakery are covered! I think EBT Food is a good thing and needed, but make it more like WIC, you can only get a very set, restricted list of things, and only healthy things. Pretty much anyone who's worked the grocery industry long enough agrees.

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[–] 123_456 0 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago 

I 1,000% agree. If people are to get help with food they ought to eat healthy.

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[–] remixedcat 1 point -1 points (+0|-1) ago 

What's healthy for one person might be harmful to the next. I have problems with veggies and bread.. They make me puke so hard I see stars

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[–] remixedcat ago 

Whoever down voted must be a butthurt vegan

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[–] SuperShak ago 

So what do you eat?

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[–] RevanProdigalKnight 0 points 10 points (+10|-0) ago 

As a Mainer, good. People shouldn't be buying junk with food stamps, they should be buying what they absolutely need.

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[–] frankenham 0 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago 

Pretty funny you're not allowed to buy vitamins with food stamps though.. that never made sense.

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[–] user_4574 0 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago 

Vitamins are dietary supplements which, by law, must be safe for consumption. However, there is no requirement that they contain anything beneficial. Under the food stamp laws we all seem to want enacted, a Big Mac could become a protected "dietary supplement" since it is "technically" edible, and that eating one is "good for the spirit."

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[–] Tokyofpv 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

If you spend the stamps on real food you should not need vitamins as your diet would be healthy.
I get money from actual work like most good humans. If I go to the supermarket and I see cauliflower that has been discounted because the color is not great I will be buying it as I save money and get tasty veg.

If I were a lazy ass fat fuck then yes, I would spend other peoples charity money on candy and soda because I already don't give a fuck about myself or other people. Just don't hurt my feelings.

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[–] klongtoey ago 

vitamins are (mostly) ineffective when taken as pills, and kinda a scam, they're only really necessary when one is deficient. someone on a budget shouldn't be wasting money on them unless necessary.

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[–] guinness2 1 point 6 points (+7|-1) ago  (edited ago)

Good call!

I work hard for my money and I don't want my income tax being used to by luxury foods for lazy fuckers!

That said, as a Type 1 Diabetic since birth, I hate soda but I use it as a cheap and super-efficient emergency medicine because it's profoundly surgery and it digests far quicker than solids and it's less harsh on my stomach than attempting to mix water and sugar / icing sugar because that literally makes me puke. Perhaps a single exception should be made for Type 1 Diabetics with an Insulin script in their name? Yeah, the exception would allow for potential abuse... but manually regulating your blood chemist is hard enough even on a good day...

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[–] 123_456 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

If they really need sweets they can pay out of pocket. Food stamps is only about $125 a month. The program is just to help them out a little when they're struggling.

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[–] guinness2 1 point 0 points (+1|-1) ago  (edited ago)

Sorry, I disagree because type 1 diabetics need emergency foods such as soda and it scares me to think that diabetics may be forced cut corners or take risks and try to "make do" in order to pay their electricity bill. I've never been on welfare, however I've always kept large stashes of soda in my house in case of emergency... far more than I'd ever expect to need.. and it has saved my life. Type 1 Diabetics are forced to manually inject insulin and sometimes accidents happen and we inject a days worth of insulin into a small vein without knowing... and when that happens we are forced to consume a day's worth of calories to counteract the insulin within about 15 mins... before we lose consciousness... and eating a day's worth of calories by eating apples is risky business.

Food stamps are intended to help desperately poor people purchase essential foods and for most type 1 diabetics there is nothing more essential than having emergency soda.

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[–] Typo 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I was going to post something about this as well. I worked with someone (not on foodstamps) who kept a candy bar in a cabinet as her emergency medicine. I would think low income people would have a harder time keeping up with medical things so a cheap candy bar or soda might be the best option for Type 1's. I'm not sure if privacy laws would prevent this from being disclosed on food stamp application forms.

When it comes down to function, I'm not sure how they would do it. Maybe all cards can buy certain items and Type 1's get a different card that allows for candy/soda? I don't know if this would be worth it from a cost standpoint (for the government) though.

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[–] guinness2 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I would think low income people would have a harder time keeping up with medical things

You are correct... diabetics can purchase edible glucagon which is 100 time as expensive as conventional sugar and digests twice as fast... however I just eat twice as much sugar in an emergency and profit!!! :-)

Diabetics do need to be registered in order to get medicines and supplies and we are used to that sort of thing, so I agree it wouldn't be a huge issue for diabetics to tick a box when registering for food stamps to receive a special concession for candy or soda... that or they could present an old script for insulin because we have plenty of those too.

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[–] toobaditworks 0 points 8 points (+8|-0) ago 

How they gonna make sizurp?

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[–] ratsmack 0 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago 

"Sizzurp – also known as purple drank, syrup and lean – is a mix of codeine-based prescription cough syrup, soda and, often, Jolly Ranchers candy. What does it do? The codeine, which is an opiate, produces a feeling of euphoria. The cough syrup also contains a drug called promethazine, which acts as a sedative."

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[–] Subtenko 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

with syrup, the regular kind

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[–] green_man 3 points 0 points (+3|-3) ago 

Fuck food stamps, this program shouldn't exist. At the very most hand them bags of whatever a dietitian comes up with that has the best cost to nutrition ratio based on their TDEE. Better yet, give them rations of Soylent or something similar based on their TDEE. Don't like it? Get a fucking job.

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[–] erietemperance 1 point 2 points (+3|-1) ago 

This is the only rational answer,

We live in a wealthy society, nobody here should go hungry. So we should feed them. We shouldn't just hand out free money, we should feed the hungry.

Put together a weekly pack of food that = ~ 10,000 calories then have people deliver the packages as part of community service. Or better yet, for as long as you receive the food, you are required to deliver the food (after you are off the program).

Right now 1 in 6 people in the US receive SNAP funds, if instead of a debit card full of free money, you got a box of powdered milk, generic hot dogs, and some canned peas every week, I would bet that "magically" a few million people would all of a sudden not need the food anymore.

It would save billions a year.

I personally know / have known at least 30 people who had a "Bridge Card" (Michigan SNAP) and not one of them needed it. Not one. None of them were wealthy, and most of them were slightly down on their luck, but they all could afford some rice, beans, water, pasta, canned food, etc. Not one of them would have starved to death if it weren't for SNAP. And I would bet my nuts that none of them would have taken the powdered milk / hot dog box if it were offered.

A safety net should be exactly that, a safety net, or something there to save you when you are going to die. Not something that everyone just "gets".

If you haven't been to a soup kitchen, or a food pantry, then you are not remotely close enough to death to require a "safety net"

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[–] green_man 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

Yep, pretty much what I was getting at except you threw in a delivery service.

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[–] Sephrone 3 points 0 points (+3|-3) ago 

I'm not surprised by the comments here, but it still saddens me greatly to see everyone so biasedly agree that this decision is a good idea.

Firstly, I get where everyone is coming from; it does seem pretty poor when someone on the dole appears to be 'wasting' taxpayers money, but I think you will find that

a) this is a small percent (we call them bogans)

b) regardless of your opinion, it is as wrong to revoke someone's freedoms/rights to these things just because you feel they 'don't deserve it'.

Look, I am very much a liberal at heart and I also firmly believe that those who do should be rewarded, but this elitist attitude towards a small group will not help in the long run and is really just a distraction.

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[–] cpoakes [S] 0 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago  (edited ago)

No one said anything about revoking anyones right to buy junk food, simply the right to buy it with food stamps. You can't buy alcohol or cigarettes either; prioritize malt liquor, Marlboros, or M&Ms - pick your poison and pay precious cash.

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[–] RedditIsPropaganda23 4 points -1 points (+3|-4) ago 

Should also exclude beer, wine, tobacco and cigarettes.

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[–] NeedMoarGuitars 0 points 7 points (+7|-0) ago 

I'm unaware of any government assistance program in the US that pays for such goods. But people with food stamps can buy groceries to sell for cash so they can buy booze, cigarettes, etc. Since the food is supposed to be for their kids this should be treated as child abuse. Blows my mind how many destitute people smoke.

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[–] facepaint 0 points 5 points (+5|-0) ago 

It is a good bet that those items are already excluded.

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[–] Freak_show 0 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago 

No food stamp program covers those items

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[–] klongtoey ago 

it almost certainly already does.

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