Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Wisconsin GOP Bans Poor People From Buying Certain Foods

Every so often one state in the Union steps forward and displays an extreme lack of intelligence or compassion. We’ve seen that with Arizona, Indiana, South Carolina … feel my pain … and, as always, Texas. Now, though, it’s Wisconsin’s turn at bat.

The GOP leaders in Wisconsin are attempting to pass a bill that would ban poor people from eating certain foods via the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]. 

Yup, that's right; Assembly Bill 177 seeks to ban people who rely on food stamps from buying a huge list of products deemed unworthy for the mouths of poor people and their children, like any kind of shellfish.

Seriously. And the bill goes on to mention a list of groceries that poor people will no longer be able to purchase, like …
  • No red potatoes; sweet potatoes and yams are okay.
  • No nuts, trail mix, herbs and seasonings.
  • No jarred spaghetti sauce; no soups, salsas, or ketchup.
  • No canned beans, except for green, wax or yellow beans.

Seriously. All of these food items are relatively inexpensive and can be found in the pantries of most homes; and a lot of families living at, or below, the poverty level subsist on spaghetti and soups because they don’t cost a lot and can feed an entire family, but this bill makes it against the law for these items to be purchased by certain people.

Oh, and some other foods not allowed for purchase by the poor include:
  • Cranberry sauce and pie filling.
  • Creamed vegetables; canned peas and green beans.
  • Baked beans
  • Pickles
  • Frozen veggies that come in packages featuring pasta, nuts, rice, cheese, or meats
  • French fries and hash browns
  • Cheddar, Swiss and Fresh Mozzarella are a no-no, but American cheese is fine; Kosher cheese is also banned unless you apply to get a specific check for it.
  • Albacore tuna, red salmon, and fish fillets
  • Bagels, pita bread, English muffins; taco shells
  • White rice and wild rice
  • Almond, rice, goat, and soy milk.
  • Brown eggs and any eggs produced by cage-free or free range chickens.
  • Several kinds of infant food
  • Bulk, Organic, or Natural items.

Broken down, it means that the Wisconsin GOP is trying to make it more difficult for poor people to buy food, create meals, or even enjoy a meal. And it gets better; Wisconsin Republican, of course, Representative Scott Allen says the bill is a way to make poor people healthier:
“We as a country are spending a fortune on health care costs for largely preventable diseases, and a lot of that relates to our habits as people — we’re consuming the wrong foods.”
Um, okay? But one wonders then, why are the Republicans banning the purchase of organic and natural foods? Does that not reek of GOP hypocrisy and lies?

But Wisconsin is not the only state trying to tell poor people what to eat and how to live; Missouri Republicans want to ban poor people them from buying steaks and seafood; Kansas asshat Republicans are banning poor people from going to the movies, swimming pools, and are trying to limit poor people to withdrawing just $25 a day from ATM machines.

Think there is no such thing as a class war? The GOP tries to legislate better lives for the One Percent, while telling poor people what to each, where to go, and how much money they are allowed to carry.

That certainly sounds like class warfare to me.
Image Source: Politico

10 comments:

  1. Ya know, I can understand people having a problem with the fictitious food-stamp recepients that buy caviar and lobster on the taxpayers' dime, but cans of baked beans? That's literally hobo food. Watch any movie set in the 1930's and you'll see hobos eating beans from the can while huddled around a trashcan fire.

    Also, they banned almond milk, soy milk, and goat milk. Looks like this bill was written by dairy farmer lobbyists. Throwing a bone to big agri-business and screwing over poor people - that's killing 2 birds with one stone!

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  2. I want to throw the WI legislature into a room with no food/water/bathroom, lock the door, and see how long it takes for them to start eating each other. buncha asshats!

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  3. I'm curious in how this is going to be enforced? Seems like an impossibility to me.

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  4. Anonymous7:52 PM

    The foods listed seem like a reasonable part of a normal diet and cannot see any rational reason for banishing them from anybody's diet.

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  5. Baked beans, canned peas and green beans, spaghetti sauce? What the hellz? To ban alternate forms of "milk" is beyond evil, how many children can't drink dairy milk, and require these milks to be healthy?

    Its time for this country to rise up against the GOP machine and vote these lesser beings out of power!!! They hate everyone that isn't white, male, xtian and at the very least middle class, and forget about being LGBT, they want us outta here.

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  6. aren't the same GOP motherfuckers who planned this the very same dudes who decided a packet of ketchup counts as a vegetable serving when served to a student as part of the federally subsidized hot lunch program?

    someone who is allergic to cows' milk in WI needs to sue....

    xxalainaxx

    xxalainaxx

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  7. They think if poor people want ketchup or spagetti sauce, they should buy the ingredients and make it from scratch. (Not making this up, I actually read that.)They don't realize that some of these people don't know how to cook, or don't have the equipment to do so. I work in a grocery store and I know some of my foodstamp customers are basically homeless, or live in an area motel. What they are proposing adds work to the person who has to put the info into the computer (we already have to code in WIC items). It would be almost impossible. The people proposing this really have no clue.

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  8. Have these legislators ever cooked a meal for themselves? They don't know what life is like below the bread line and tell themselves that these people could make it if only they tried. As you say this is all about supporting the 1%ers and damn the rest.

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  9. Dare I ask if any religious leaders in Wisconsin are voicing outrage over this?

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  10. See Snopes.com for an unbiased analysis:

    http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/wifoodstamps.asp

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