Why the government shouldn't tell people how to use food stamps
Restricting food stamps to use on certain foods is only fair if we put restrictions on dozens of other programs that assist people 鈥攖o attend school, save for retirement, buy homes, take care of their children. Instead, let鈥檚 trust Americans to use that assistance as they see fit and not tell them how to live their lives.
Restricting food stamps to use on certain foods is only fair if we put restrictions on dozens of other programs that assist people 鈥攖o attend school, save for retirement, buy homes, take care of their children. Instead, let鈥檚 trust Americans to use that assistance as they see fit and not tell them how to live their lives.
Missouri State Representative Rick Brattin (R-55) has proposed聽a bill聽that would prohibit Missourians who participate in the聽Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program聽(SNAP, aka food stamps) from using their benefits to buy 鈥渃ookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood, or steak.鈥� But why stop at food stamps? Let鈥檚 limit beneficiaries鈥� use of all federal benefits.
Start with an easy one: unemployment benefits. No spending that money on a new suit for job interviews. That old sport coat or pantsuit will be fine.
How about聽crop subsidies? Some farmers buy fancy farm implements with GPS and air-conditioned cabs. No more of that. And no spending those subsidies on high tech seeds, fertilizers, and weed killers.
But I鈥檓 a tax guy and want to focus on tax benefits. The聽earned income credit聽(EITC) is a good place to start鈥攊t can use the same rules Representative Brattin has proposed for food stamps. And do the same for the聽child credit鈥攌ids don鈥檛 need the omega-3 that they鈥檇 get from seafood.
The聽child care credit? No spending it on private nannies or daycare centers that feed into those tony private schools. Public daycare centers should be fine.
Education credits and deductions for tuition and interest on student loans? No using those to study classics or English lit. Every student getting educational assistance should require to major in a STEM subject. That might even yield a positive return for the government鈥攖hose majors are the ones getting good jobs these days and they鈥檒l pay lots of taxes.
One of my favorites: the聽mortgage interest deduction. Some people use the savings to buy houses with Jacuzzi tubs, walk-in wine cellars, and his-and-her master bathrooms. No more of that. People getting a tax break on their mortgages should settle for a tract home no larger than 1,500 square feet with one bathroom and no garage.
Okay, you get my point. Just because you get benefits from the government doesn鈥檛 mean the government should tell you how to use them. Maybe Representative Brattin really did see 鈥減eople purchasing filet mignons and crab legs鈥� with food stamps and maybe he really can鈥檛 afford to buy those items. But maybe, just maybe, the person had saved up and was buying them for a special occasion. You can鈥檛 afford to buy much food, much less very much expensive food, on a food stamp budget. The聽average daily benefit in Missouri聽last year was just $4 per person per day.
Congress created the various federal programs that assist people in many ways鈥攖o attend school, save for retirement, buy homes, take care of their children, and, yes, eat. Let鈥檚 trust them to use that assistance as they see fit and not tell them how to live their lives.聽
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