re: My idea for a different approach to food stamps and obesity

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That seems highly unlikely that people are going to be able to successfully barter items like carrots in a reasonable amount of time every week.

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OK, let's go with mustard greens and watermelon.

I like that idea. It's anti freedom but when you're on welfare you should forfeit free choice because you are essentially committing theft.

Nothing antifreedom about it. Folks choose to enroll in the SNAP program, or not. If they do, then the Gov't has a responsibility to track where the money is going and what it's being spent on. It isn't earned money. It's gifted money.

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hat's very hard to do. Recently up here in NW La. we had a food stamp debit glitch at Walmart. The ghetto crowd got on their cell phones and told everyone that stuff is free. During the glitch almost 1,000 of people with food stamp cards stole everything they could carry.

David Vitter demanded that they be prosecuted. They arrested 6. Law enforcement told Vitter that it was just too difficult to find the perps.

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I never said it would be easy but they should do it.

I don't see how that could possibly work from a financial standpoint.

There wouldn't be much turnover of inventory if you had a whole store just for people on food stamps.

Plus how many of those stores would be built in a city? And they'd have to pay all of the expenses and workers. It would be very inefficient and there is no way the store could afford to stay open on it's own. It would need a ton of government money poured into it just to keep it open.

No possible way that would work.

Plus, people on food stamps aren't always going to be near a government grocery store. They could be driving here or there and aren't always going to be around one of those stores.

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If the Obama admin or any admin was serious about fighting the obesity epidemic especially the childhood obesity epidemic why do they continue the same failed policies and just throw money down the toilet?

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Because it helps them win elections, and grow their political power.

If you don't think your tax dollars go to people who live unhealthy lifestyles, then you have to be on something.

There is no doubt our tax dollars go to obese people, smokers, drug users, lazy people and all kinds who do not live a healthy lifestyle.

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Not if those stores were government run.

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How does that make it any different?

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This would be my idea. Issue a card to all EBT, SNAP, and food stamp recipients that tracks what they buy (similar to a reward card). Then the gov rewards those who buy healthy food and punishes (lows funding or cuts it off completely) for those who buy unhealthy food. I also wouldn't be opposed to buying gym memberships for those that are overweight and out of shape.

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That would be far, far too expensive to monitor.

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That would be far, far too expensive to monitor.

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maybe, maybe not. That is why I said it would be nice for a test program to try it.

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There's no maybe or maybe not. A govt employee would have to individually check someone's purchases and then pass that up the food chain for other people to make a determination of what to do. That costs a shite ton of money

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not really a computer monitors it and says ok person X spent $350/month average over the last 3 months on "junk food". Gov employee looks at it says ok we cut this person $350/month and moves on to the next case. If recipient wants to appeal they have to cover the costs of the appeal.