Trump's "American Harvest Box"

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/12/news/ec ... index.html
So, the short version is, Trump proposes to change food stamps by replacing half of them with a pre-selected, government issued box of non-perishable goods, such as canned meat, canned fruits and veggies, peanut butter, cereal, pasta, etc.

1-Allergies? That's...a huge issue here. Wheat allergies (especially since wheat products are used as filler in a lot of canned goods), peanut allergies, etc. Heck, my friend has a NICKEL allergy, which means basically anything that comes in a can is poisonous to him.
2-This could be a big fuck you to anyone who is keeping kosher, halal, or vegetarian.
3-Screw you to anyone who is on a specialized diet to lower their blood pressure, build muscle mass, reduce risk of stroke, etc.
4-This is less flexible, so it's harder for families to make the right choice for their situation, buying staples in bulk, taking advantage of sales and discounts, maintaining ethnic food traditions, etc.
5-This hurts small businesses by removing the ability of recipients to deal with their bodaga, their ethnic grocery store, etc.
6-Poor people have way more experience in getting buy on limited food than those in power. They know better how to stretch a dollar or manage a meal plan than somebody who just points at servants.
7-Limiting access to convenience food by going with basic ingredients instead is disastrous for the working poor. After pulling a shift packing two boxes a minute at amazon, then staying on your feet for hours at McDonalds, you don't really have the energy to cook an elaborate meal and it's good to be able to zap some EZ mac or a frozen pizza so that you can refuel in time for your next shift.
8-Nobody should have their food choices restricted by a man who lives on diet coke, big macs, and well-done ketchup-slathered steaks.

Of course, all these "problems" are only problems if you aren't a bitter cynic. I think it's more likely that the point isn't to help people at all; it's to punish them for being poor.

[ORCACommander]

i thought food stamps and ebt cards already had lock outs to prevent beer, cigarettes and potato chips already

[Admiral X]

Incidentally, this is the system already in use by Indian Reservations. Can't say I really care for it, but then I'm generally in favor of allowing people to choose what food they get by using food stamps/credit, because it should result in less wasted food. And as Fuzzy points out, there's the whole issue of allergies and religious considerations. Plus with the way the VA system is run, I'm not anxious to make the government responsible for handing out food on the same scale. Part of me cringes at the thought of the cheap crap they might buy and ship out to people. I mean, I guess the food I got on the reservation wasn't horrible (I was actually quite fond of the cheese), but, you know me and my general distrust of the government.

[Robovski]

You can get potato chips, you can't get alcohol, hygiene products, pet food, toilet paper...

[FaxModem1]

i thought food stamps and ebt cards already had lock outs to prevent beer, cigarettes and potato chips already

The talking point is usually poor people buying steak and lobster. Which, even if true, says that poor people shouldn't be able to have nice food once in a while because they're poor.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

i thought food stamps and ebt cards already had lock outs to prevent beer, cigarettes and potato chips already

The talking point is usually poor people buying steak and lobster. Which, even if true, says that poor people shouldn't be able to have nice food once in a while because they're poor.

Yeah. I'm living on food stamps, and if somebody poor gets a steak or lobster, their gonna be living on rice, potatoes, and ramen for the next couple of weeks. It's also a problematic attitude because a lot of the "fancy" food is also the healthiest, and the working poor can't afford to take unpaid sick days.

Anyway, at least if one of us buys a steak with our food stamps we aren't going to cook it well-done and eat it with fucking ketchup. >_>

[SuccubusYuri]

The only benefit I see is, at 1/4 the annual volume of Amazon, this would be a huge subsidy to the Post Office and keep it solvent for quite a while. OH WAIT.

The administration didn't detail exactly how families would receive the food boxes, saying states could distribute them through existing infrastructure, partnerships or directly to residences through delivery services.

So not even the most basic of actual, practical side effects will be utilized.

As a side note it is interesting to see Republicans bend over backwards to say we can improve the efficiency of a subsidized good through collective bargaining. Just not in health care! That would be silly.