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EBT is already money with strings attached - you can only spend it on food. I don't see narrowing the definition of "food" here to exclude soda to be a huge pro
by phantom784 9mo ago
EBT is already money with strings attached - you can only spend it on food. I don't see narrowing the definition of "food" here to exclude soda to be a huge problem.
- SoftTalker 9mo agoEasily sidestepped, however, there is a thriving economy in poor neighborhoods around converting EBT to cash.
- neutronicus 9mo agoSoda, I agree. Chips ... I think you should probably allow parents to spend EBT to buy a bag of chips for a hungry/picky kid in a pinch.
- shuntress 9mo agoWhy shouldn't EBT money be allowed to purchase sugar free soda?
- loire280 9mo agoSince it has no calories, it's not "food" by even a very loose definition. As someone who lives in a neighborhood where most tapwater is still delivered by lead service lines, I'm sympathetic to the argument that it provides hydration. I'd prefer that my tax dollars went to solving that problem more directly, however.
- shuntress 9mo agoAre you saying you shouldn't be able to buy water with SNAP money?
- phantom784 9mo agoI think it could be argued either way. There's plenty of non-food necessities (toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, etc.) that aren't covered by SNAP.
- xp84 9mo agoRFK and his type think sugar free soda gives you cancer, or whatever.
- rootusrootus 9mo agoI don't really see the point, as a practical matter. Money being the fungible thing that it is, the only way this policy actually restricts anything is if the only money SNAP recipients ever spend on food is their SNAP benefit. It feels much more like spite politics: We can tell these people whose morals are so bad that they need our money to survive that they cannot spend it on what we think of as junk food. That is a luxury only us hard working folk are permitted. When you are poor, you cannot suffer alone, you need to know that we are making sure you feel extra pain. Please be motivated to be better.
- phantom784 9mo agoGiven that money is fungible, SNAP could in theory be replaced by a direct cash payment with no strings attached. This would also have the benefit of reducing overhead costs.
- rootusrootus 9mo agoNo argument from me. Anything we can do to reduce unnecessary overhead and either save the money or (better) use it to improve outcomes would be welcome.