Wisconsin Republicans Don’t Want Food Stamp Recipients Buying Beans, Potatoes, Pasta Sauce

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Low-income Wisconsin families won’t be able to buy shellfish with food stamps, and will have a much harder time getting basics like dried beans, pasta sauce, and cooking spices into their kitchens, under the latest state-level Republican proposal to tighten the government’s grip on the poor.

A bill proposed by state Rep. Robert Brooks ® would ban stores from accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards for lobster, shrimp, and any other form of shellfish, and set a long list of additional rules for the first two-thirds of a recipient’s monthly spending. Lawmakers held a committee hearing Thursday on the bill, which would require a federal waiver to implement.

An average of 420,000 households received SNAP each month in Wisconsin in 2014. The average recipient household got $220 per month from the program last year. Brooks’ restrictions would apply to all but $72.60 per month for the average household affected. And even that amount could not be spent on any form of shellfish.

Next to other recent state-level SNAP restrictions, Brooks’ billlooks like an attempt at compromise. It mandates that at least two-thirds of a recipients food stamps be spent on designated categories of food, and leaves the last third unrestricted. Republicans in other states have sought outright prohibitions rather than Brooks’ partial, ratio-based ban. Brooks says he has resisted calls from colleagues to add steak to the list of banned foods. The ban on shellfish is more moderate than a ban on all seafood proposed by one Missouri lawmaker earlier this year, meaning that cheap sources of protein like canned tuna would still be unrestricted for Wisconsin’s poorest families.

But the fact that Brooks doesn’t want to go quite as far as the worst ideas of his colleagues doesn’t mean his proposal would benefit society or make it easier to get out of poverty. Adding more rules to the ones that already constrain food stamps families makes their shopping experiences more stressful and removes their already-limited control over what they put on the dinner table.

The law would restrict access to a whole range of commonplace ingredients. Some of the things that would be harder to buy for poor families who cook include “herbs, spices, or seasonings,” all nuts, red and yellow potatoes, smoothies, spaghetti sauce, “soups, salsas, ketchup,” sauerkraut, pickles, dried beans sold in bulk, and white or albacore tuna. (Cans of “light tuna” are allowed under the rules.)

[source]

The full list of CAN AND CANNOT

Not everything here is entirely stupid, understand, but when you get to the point where a person is only permitted to buy dried beans or brown rice if they buy a 16 oz package (no larger or smaller), regardless of sales or coupons, with their benefits, things have gotten ridiculous. For several reasons. Most of the time I can find a 2 lb package of dried beans for far less per pound than a 1 lb. If I'm buying rice, I usually buy huge bags, because I like rice. They're also mandating ONLY brown rice, which takes twice as long to cook as white rice, but you can't buy frozen varieties of brown rice, so god help you if you have two jobs and not much time.

In addition, you can buy frosted miniwheats cereal, but you can't buy a regular old potato. Potatoes are POWERHOUSES of nutrition, especially if you eat the skin (a great source of fibre). I get most of my potassium from potatoes. They have a TONNE of vitamin C.

And poor people CLEARLY don't deserve cooking spices with which to season the things they're allowed to buy (none of which are seasoned, if you read the full list). They better be eating boring foods with no flavour OR ELSE unless they want frosted mini wheats.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Unbelievable. Keeping the poor malnourished.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

[source]

The full list of CAN AND CANNOT

Not everything here is entirely stupid, understand, but when you get to the point where a person is only permitted to buy dried beans or brown rice if they buy a 16 oz package (no larger or smaller), regardless of sales or coupons, with their benefits, things have gotten ridiculous. For several reasons. Most of the time I can find a 2 lb package of dried beans for far less per pound than a 1 lb. If I'm buying rice, I usually buy huge bags, because I like rice. They're also mandating ONLY brown rice, which takes twice as long to cook as white rice, but you can't buy frozen varieties of brown rice, so god help you if you have two jobs and not much time.

In addition, you can buy frosted miniwheats cereal, but you can't buy a regular old potato. Potatoes are POWERHOUSES of nutrition, especially if you eat the skin (a great source of fibre). I get most of my potassium from potatoes. They have a TONNE of vitamin C.

And poor people CLEARLY don't deserve cooking spices with which to season the things they're allowed to buy (none of which are seasoned, if you read the full list). They better be eating boring foods with no flavour OR ELSE unless they want frosted mini wheats.

There's a great source of contention from people who view welfare recipients as lazy bums who shouldn't be allowed to buy anything but bread and water. I heard someone at the gas station talking about this one day. This woman was furious that some lady on food stamps could buy grade a meat at the store.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

There's a great source of contention from people who view welfare recipients as lazy bums who shouldn't be allowed to buy anything but bread and water. I heard someone at the gas station talking about this one day. This woman was furious that some lady on food stamps could buy grade a meat at the store.

As we all know, the poor should only be able to buy scrap from either an abbatoir's floor or from a rendering plant. *nods sagely*

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The administrative burden that this puts on retailers is just ridiculous. Talk about over-regulation. smh

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

The administrative burden that this puts on retailers is just ridiculous. Talk about over-regulation. smh

It's stupid. It makes it so people just straight up can't make good choices or choices at all. The poor soul who doesn't know how to cook or the one who doesn't know how to make food taste good without spices is SOL. Anyone with a picky eater child is SOL. Anyone with multiple jobs or even one long-houred job who doesn't make enough to get off food stamps is SOL.

It means that the poor cashier, who's probably on food stamps him or herself (because we all know you can't actually feed yourself and make rent on a cashier's minimum wage) has to look someone trying to feed their children right in the eye and say "I'm sorry, you can't buy pasta sauce. It's not allowed." You can do SO MUCH with pasta sauce. You can turn tortillas into mini pizzas for hungry, picky kids. You can make them eat the brown rice you're forced to buy. You can make a whole bunch of casseroles. And then that poor cashier has to try and hold it together while the poor person trying to feed their kids stands there and tries not to cry over the fact that they have no idea what to do with canned crushed tomatoes and no cooking spices. Talk about a cruddy day at work.

[VOL 425]

Funny thing is when I see truly poor people in other parts of the world they are skinny from not eating

In the USA it seems like a lot of the people who can qualify for "Food Stamps" are overweight

Kinda funny isnt' it............

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Funny thing is when I see truly poor people in other parts of the world they are skinny from not eating

In the USA it seems like a lot of the people who can qualify for "Food Stamps" are overweight

Kinda funny isnt' it............

So because people are able to gain weight, that means food stamps are messed?

[VOL 425]

So because people are able to gain weight, that means food stamps are messed?

No what it means is that way way too many people have learned how to work the system and get free assistance.

Housing, Food, Medical the list goes on and on

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

No what it means is that way way too many people have learned how to work the system and get free assistance.

Housing, Food, Medical the list goes on and on

Or those people have slowed metabolisms due to undiagnosed medical issues. Hey, that's a thing, too. Maybe they qualify for foodstamps but not medical care and THAT'S why they're fat. But I'm sure you're magic and can diagnose all medical issues with just a glance, right? That's why you're employed for millions of dollars at a prestigious hospital?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And maybe people that live on tight budgets buy the cheapest foods they can find which typically aren't all that healthy or nutritious - i.e. they make fat.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

And maybe people that live on tight budgets buy the cheapest foods they can find which typically aren't all that healthy or nutritious - i.e. they make fat.

Yup. The BEST thing food stamps could do would be to offer non-mandatory cooking classes that any food stamp recipient--even children--could take that would teach them inexpensive, healthy, quick meals. EMPOWER people through education. Incentivize the classes by offering an extra X a month per person in the family who goes and takes the class. There ARE healthy quick meals that are tasty, but if you don't know how to make them or if you're the only family member who cooks and all that you have time for is zapping something in the nuke, then you're not going to be ABLE to make good choices. So encourage older kids and teens to learn how to make healthy, inexpensive meals.

Don't just make it so the only kind of rice a poor person can buy is brown, which takes 40 minutes vs the 20 minutes for white rice. And don't take away POTATOES.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Or those people have slowed metabolisms due to undiagnosed medical issues. Hey, that's a thing, too. Maybe they qualify for foodstamps but not medical care and THAT'S why they're fat. But I'm sure you're magic and can diagnose all medical issues with just a glance, right? That's why you're employed for millions of dollars at a prestigious hospital?[/quote

]

####### post of the year. RoFL

[GandD 5,966]

Or those people have slowed metabolisms due to undiagnosed medical issues. Hey, that's a thing, too. Maybe they qualify for foodstamps but not medical care and THAT'S why they're fat. But I'm sure you're magic and can diagnose all medical issues with just a glance, right? That's why you're employed for millions of dollars at a prestigious hospital?

No it's because they eat cheap fast food and gain weight.

And maybe people that live on tight budgets buy the cheapest foods they can find which typically aren't all that healthy or nutritious - i.e. they make fat.

Yes, this.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

No it's because they eat cheap fast food and gain weight.

Yes, this.

some definitely do. Others don't.