4 ms·

Would make more sense to shit-can the program and just hand them cash. Any junkies or land-whales will kill themselves faster and relieve the taxpayers of furt

by ty6853 2y ago

Would make more sense to shit-can the program and just hand them cash. Any junkies or land-whales will kill themselves faster and relieve the taxpayers of further burden, and the people that need it have better understanding of their own needs than some benefits clerk who spends 5 minutes with them twice a year. It would be a win-win for literally everyone.

duxup 2y ago
I lived in a crappy part of town when I was young. Local homeless guy I recognized, I'd give him a few bucks once in a while. I didn't know him, but everyone recognized him. Someone mentioned to me "he's just gonna spend it on booze" (there wasn't really any evidence for that but they assumed). A friend of mine made an insightful comment "Considering his life so far, maybe he actually could use a beer more than us." (We were going to a local bar) Someone wants some skittles or something, fine by me. The idea that we should tell someone they can't have a treat because they're poor, I agree that seems cruel. Folks who really want to get those folks help / get them out of the system, they're not sweating skittles. My wife works in the school system and one of the poorer kids told her that sometimes their aunt and uncle come over and take their food. THAT is a problem, not skittles.
- nothercastle 2y ago
  For me it’s less about what they pick and more about not funneling more tax payer money to PepsiCo for food like products that kill people. If you are going to micro manage the program cut out all the toxic shit.
  - hmcq6 2y ago
    Chiquita also kills people
    - GuestFAUniverse 2y ago
      Oh, the lovely United Fruits Company? Who dares to have a critical view into a proper history book? Everybody better read "Fahrenheit 451" too, as long as the Bro-lords don't go after it (again).
- a_e_k 2y ago
  There's a famous anecdote about C.S. Lewis saying much the same thing: > On the way to an Inklings meeting, he gave some money to a street beggar, and I made the usual objection: "Won't he just spend it on drink?" > Lewis answered, "Yes, but if I kept it, so would I." https://web.archive.org/web/20210717220213/https://www.ncronline.org/news/media/cs-lewis-couldnt-touch-anything-without-illuminating-it https://web.archive.org/web/20210717220213/https://www.ncron...
kalleboo 2y ago
> Would make more sense to shit-can the program and just hand them cash Is there anywhere else in the world that has a similar program to SNAP that micro-manages what kind of things people can buy? Everywhere else I'm familiar with just gives people in need cash that they can spend however they want. The closest thing I can think of is food banks (which also seems much more rare elsewhere, only recently popping up in the UK after their austerity programs)
- garfield_light 2y ago
  JUNAEB in Chile is pretty much SNAP for college students. Originally you could buy beer or pretty much anything in the supermarket, it got limited strictly to food and then items with two or less warning labels [0]. A big difference is intention, in the US the focus is "anti-sin" and avoiding joy for undesirables. Many protein bars or "natural" juices are just morally aesthetic candy and soda. The labeling in Chile is data driven* (i.e, It's pretty much an efficient way to read the nutrition info, it killed vitamin water) so the objective is closer to public health. I would also think that straight cash is preferable, the limitations are fine for complementary benefits of college students, not for actual families. Diapers and lentils are a better use of government money. Anyways if people want to buy drugs, converting food items to cash is simple. - https://www.theexamination.org/articles/a-decade-after-its-pioneering-food-law-where-does-chile-s-obesity-crisis-stand https://www.theexamination.org/articles/a-decade-after-its-p...
asacrowflies 2y ago
[flagged]

by ty6853 2y ago

duxup 2y ago

I lived in a crappy part of town when I was young. Local homeless guy I recognized, I'd give him a few bucks once in a while. I didn't know him, but everyone recognized him. Someone mentioned to me "he's just gonna spend it on booze" (there wasn't really any evidence for that but they assumed). A friend of mine made an insightful comment "Considering his life so far, maybe he actually could use a beer more than us." (We were going to a local bar) Someone wants some skittles or something, fine by me. The idea that we should tell someone they can't have a treat because they're poor, I agree that seems cruel. Folks who really want to get those folks help / get them out of the system, they're not sweating skittles. My wife works in the school system and one of the poorer kids told her that sometimes their aunt and uncle come over and take their food. THAT is a problem, not skittles.

nothercastle 2y ago
For me it’s less about what they pick and more about not funneling more tax payer money to PepsiCo for food like products that kill people. If you are going to micro manage the program cut out all the toxic shit.
- hmcq6 2y ago
  Chiquita also kills people
  - GuestFAUniverse 2y ago
    Oh, the lovely United Fruits Company? Who dares to have a critical view into a proper history book? Everybody better read "Fahrenheit 451" too, as long as the Bro-lords don't go after it (again).
a_e_k 2y ago
There's a famous anecdote about C.S. Lewis saying much the same thing: > On the way to an Inklings meeting, he gave some money to a street beggar, and I made the usual objection: "Won't he just spend it on drink?" > Lewis answered, "Yes, but if I kept it, so would I." https://web.archive.org/web/20210717220213/https://www.ncronline.org/news/media/cs-lewis-couldnt-touch-anything-without-illuminating-it https://web.archive.org/web/20210717220213/https://www.ncron...

kalleboo 2y ago

> Would make more sense to shit-can the program and just hand them cash Is there anywhere else in the world that has a similar program to SNAP that micro-manages what kind of things people can buy? Everywhere else I'm familiar with just gives people in need cash that they can spend however they want. The closest thing I can think of is food banks (which also seems much more rare elsewhere, only recently popping up in the UK after their austerity programs)

garfield_light 2y ago
JUNAEB in Chile is pretty much SNAP for college students. Originally you could buy beer or pretty much anything in the supermarket, it got limited strictly to food and then items with two or less warning labels [0]. A big difference is intention, in the US the focus is "anti-sin" and avoiding joy for undesirables. Many protein bars or "natural" juices are just morally aesthetic candy and soda. The labeling in Chile is data driven* (i.e, It's pretty much an efficient way to read the nutrition info, it killed vitamin water) so the objective is closer to public health. I would also think that straight cash is preferable, the limitations are fine for complementary benefits of college students, not for actual families. Diapers and lentils are a better use of government money. Anyways if people want to buy drugs, converting food items to cash is simple. - https://www.theexamination.org/articles/a-decade-after-its-pioneering-food-law-where-does-chile-s-obesity-crisis-stand https://www.theexamination.org/articles/a-decade-after-its-p...

asacrowflies 2y ago

[flagged]