just one more administrative burden bro. I promise bro Just one more means test and it'll fix everything bro. bro. Just one more administrative burden. One more means test and we can fix this whole problem bro. Bro cmon just give me one more administrative burden I promise. bro bro please.
Reposted from
Aaron Rupar
Rand Paul on RFK Jr: "One of the things I plan on talking to him about is the idea that food stamps shouldn't cover unhealthy food. I don't think that food stamps should pay for full sugar Coca-Cola, Pepsi, full sugar anything."
Comments
For Rand Paul, the point is to make accessing the safety net as humiliating as possible for desperate people who rely on it for survival— he's got to be one of the meanest politicians on earth.
Why is that?
https://doi.org/10.1080/21551197.2024.2448960
I get it—the change Sen Paul is pushing for is the political equivalent of pushing the elderly onto an ice floe.
Every limitation on economic assistance creates barriers to use for recipients &/or costs for retailers. If the program is worth spending on, don’t make it hard(er) to implement, especially in pursuit of a judgey, intrusive goal like telling people what/what not to eat.
(I want all people to be able to live with dignity, to not have to sacrifice it for food.)
There was a list of very specific items by category, weight, preparation, vitamin content, etc. My friend might get home crying +
She could get 2 gal/wk of milk but was lactose intolerant. Black beans not pinto, dried not canned +
These examples may seem irrelevant to “just sugar content,” but consider all the attendant questions (natural, added, total, net??) and how just 2/4/6 more grams will impact actual people shopping.
Guess I was overly optimistic re good faith questioning.
This isn’t a good idea, it’s an enormous boondoggle.
They’ll place a Food Stamps Enforcement Officer at each point of sale, with a red telephone they can use to call HQ in the case of super confusing items like boston baked beans.
There is going to be so much efficiency you’ll be sick of it.