New York: No Soda For Food Stamps Recipients
When you’re dependent on the government, why should you be surprised when the government tells you how to live?
NEW YORK (AP) – New Yorkers on food stamps would not be allowed to spend them on sugar-sweetened drinks under an obesity-fighting proposal being floated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson.
Bloomberg and Paterson planned to announce Thursday that they are seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the nation’s food stamp program, to add sugary drinks to the list of prohibited goods for city residents receiving assistance.
If approved, it would be the first time an item would be banned from the federal program based solely on nutritional value.
I normally oppose the government’s efforts to manipulate the decisions in our lives, but in this instance I support it. And here’s why:
The idea has been suggested previously, including in 2008 in Maine, where it drew criticism from advocates for the poor who argued it unfairly singled out low-income people and risked scaring off potential needy recipients.
With food stamps enrollment breaking records, and 1 in 6 Americans dependent on the government, I think this sort of gross manipulation by the government is exactly what the public needs to see.
This is what happens when you’re dependent on the government instead of independent and self-reliant. The government makes your decisions for you.
Making people dependent upon the government doesn’t help them.
Tags: food stamps, government dependency, nanny statism
