The SNAP "food stamp" program is not a social services program. It is under the department of agriculture included on the Farm Bill.
The reason people are allowed to use food stamps on junk food is because the farmers growing the potatoes that make potato chips and the farmers growing sugar that make candy, and the farmers growing wheat that is turned into flour to make cookies all deserve to sell their products to buyers at the same rate that the farmers and ranchers who sell onions, chicken, and fish do.
It's not a reward program for the people who spend the food stamps as much as it is a subsidy program for farmers to keep growing stuff.
Not only that, but the food stamps being spent today were already paid for in full two years ago.
On average only about 52% of the benefits that are already earmarked for the SNAP program each year are used. That means 48% is not used and from what I have been told is that it rolls over to foreign aid.
You pay taxes. Your money is set aside for SNAP benefits which is the bulk of the Farm Bill. Whatever is not given back to the public to be spent in America is sent to foreign countries.
I say that if you qualify for SNAP benefits please get them and please use them. Keep our money in the US. It's your money. People say that they don't like to "suck the government teet" but nobody has a problem spending their tax returns because they accept that it is their money. The money in the SNAP program is your money too.
(source - I'm a welfare worker. I've been behind the scenes for nearly two decades)
I say this repeatedly:
Farming is grueling thankless work.
The SNAP "food stamp" program is not a social services program. It is under the department of agriculture included on the Farm Bill.
The reason people are allowed to use food stamps on junk food is because the farmers growing the potatoes that make potato chips and the farmers growing sugar that make candy, and the farmers growing wheat that is turned into flour to make cookies all deserve to sell their products to buyers at the same rate that the farmers and ranchers who sell onions, chicken, and fish do.
It's not a reward program for the people who spend the food stamps as much as it is a subsidy program for farmers to keep growing stuff.
Not only that, but the food stamps being spent today were already paid for in full two years ago.
On average only about 52% of the benefits that are already earmarked for the SNAP program each year are used. That means 48% is not used and from what I have been told is that it rolls over to foreign aid.
You pay taxes. Your money is set aside for SNAP benefits which is the bulk of the Farm Bill. Whatever is not given back to the public to be spent in America is sent to foreign countries.
I say that if you qualify for SNAP benefits please get them and please use them. Keep our money in the US. It's your money. People say that they don't like to "suck the government teet" but nobody has a problem spending their tax returns because they accept that it is their money. The money in the SNAP program is your money too.
(source - I'm a welfare worker. I've been behind the scenes for nearly two decades)
I bring this up to my son often: growing even 1 bowl of rice is NOT EASY.
Farmers work very hard to bring that rice to us. It's very, very easy to take it for granted because it looks so plentiful.
Some examples:
Time-lapse of growing rice (turn on subtitles)
Evangelion - this is "work?"
A Better Tomorrow 2 - "rice is just like my mother and father. don't f with my family"