TYT: GOP Tries To Ban Steak And Seafood Purchases With Food Stamps

[WhoIsNumberNone]

"In 2013, Fox News proudly broadcast an interview with a young food stamp recipient who claimed to be using the government benefit to purchase lobster and sushi.
"This is the way I want to live and I don’t really see anything changing," Jason Greenslate explained to Fox. “It’s free food; it’s awesome."


That story fit a longtime conservative suspicion that poor people use food stamps to purchase luxury items. Now, a Republican state lawmaker in Missouri is pushing for legislation that would stop people like Greenslate and severely limit what food stamp recipients can buy. The bill being proposed would ban the purchase with food stamps of 'cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood or steak.’”*

Ben Mankiewicz (What The Flick?! & Turner Classic Movies; http://www.twitter.com/BenMank77), Steve Oh (https://twitter.com/stevenoh88) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss.


*Read more here http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/03/missouri-republicans-are-trying-to-ban-food-stamp-recipients-from-buying-steak-and-seafood/

[Historic NY]

1. And to think one time we served lobster in prisons...

so much so prisoners complained.

[Moostache]

2. This misplaced hatred of the poor is disgusting.

These bastards pushing the agenda of the "welfare queen" some 40 years after Ray-gun are repulsive on every imaginable level.

People on government assistance are NOT living the high life...at least not the kind of government assistance these fetid assweasels are petal-ling. There ARE people getting rich on the government largess though....the pieces of human filth on Wall Street. Mother fuckers like Jamie Dimon, the kind of fuckwads who DO eat lobsters and steaks on the backs of the people AND taxpayers of this nation...they are the "good guys", the "Makers", the "job creators".

BULLSHIT!

People like Congressman Rick Brattin should be called to the carpet for their craven and dishonest pandering. They not only do not believe the words spewing out of their mouths, they KNOW they are lying and just do not care. I have no use for "people" of this ilk. I give less than one one-thousandth of a shit about their well being...which is actually MORE than they care about tax payers, relief recipients or constituents COMBINED!

I propose a new law, before casting a vote on SNAP adjustments, every Congressman AND THEIR FAMILY must live a month on the allotted money and THEN they can vote and pass judgment on the lives and choices of others.

[MillennialDem]

5. No kidding. Talk about misplaced priorities. Oh noes, someone might be eating steak instead of

hamburger on food stamps.

Of all the things to get worked up over...

Corporate welfare is screwing us over far worse as is military welfare (I don't mean VA benefits, I mean our giant military budget)

And even on the personal welfare level, are there people gaming the system that could be rooted out? Woman (or man) with kids who doesn't marry their high income earning boyfriend (or girlfriend) but uses section 8, wic, ebt, and student aid? Yeah maybe... but someone buying steak with EBT? Give me a fucking break.

[project_bluebook]

3. My brother worked for KBR in Afghanistan

They got steak and lobster every Friday. Guess its okay for corporate welfare.

[oldandhappy]

4. Wish we demanded these claims be published with statistics, footnotes --

I am tired of us giving air time to these claims, hence perpetuating these stories. Well, yes, I know. No one on welfare is buying cruises or lobster. Just wish we had some documented stats we could throw at the 'story'.

[progressoid]

6. Hey TYT, fix yer lighting!

[chervilant]

7. I have to use EBT at present.

The monthly amount has been reduced (thank a Republican!), and it's nigh on impossible to make it to the end of the month with sufficient money to eat. Anyone who "cheats" and buys beef or seafood isn't going to make it through to their next month's installment.

I cannot tell you how many times I've been stared at when I whip out my EBT. I want to say, "Here but for the grace of god," but I'm an atheist.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. I bet this asshole doesn't believe there really are hungry people in America....

Kinda like how O'Reilly claimed there were no homeless veterans.

[DeSwiss]

9. Just tell the MO. GOP that the federal government approves, that should put a stop to it.

A federal panel that helps set federal dietary guidelines is recommending Americans eat less meat because it’s better for the environment, sparking outrage from industry groups representing the nation’s purveyors of beef, pork and poultry. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a federally appointed panel of nutritionists created in 1983, decided for the first time this year to factor in environmental sustainability in its recommendations. They include a finding that a diet lower in animal-based foods is not only healthier, but has less of an environmental impact.

The meat industry is lashing back, contending the panel has neither the authority nor the expertise to make such a judgment. “When you talk about the lens of the dietary guidelines it’s just not appropriate for the advisory committee to enter that conversation when they were asked to look at nutrition and health science,” said Kristina Butts, executive director of legislative affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) agrees, saying sustainability is a complex issue best left to a body that specializes in the environment. “The same concern would exist if an expert sustainability committee were making nutrition policy recommendations,” Betsy Booren, NAMI’s vice president of scientific Affairs, said in a public meeting last week. “It is not appropriate for the person designing a better light bulb to be telling Americans how to make a better sandwich.”

The Agriculture Department and Department of Health and Human Services will use the committee’s report and recommendations to draft the final guidelines for 2015, due out later this year. The Hill- More

- And tell the MO. GOP not to worry about those pesky Cattleman's Association people and the North American Meat Industry folks scrambling and fighting each other for all the market share they can get their hands on. They like a challenge.

And I'm sure this Anti-meat Sales Position of theirs won't have any effect on their contributions to future political campaigns. None, whatsoever......

K&R

[heaven05]

10. these RW GOP folks

are really out the box. They are hateful, spiteful, selfish and mostly ignorant. Really a pitiful sub, sub culture of people.

[geretogo]

11. Everybody knows steak and lobster should only be for the wealthy . Only porridge and gruel should

be fed to the poor .

[47of74]

12. I call bullshit on Rep. Rick Brattin (R-Asswipe) claims

I call bullshit on these claims that Rep Brattin (R-Asswipe) has made;

"I have seen people purchasing filet mignons and crab legs with their EBT cards," he said. "When I can't afford it on my pay, I don't want people on the taxpayer's dime to afford those kinds of foods either."

What is it with these clowns that they're always seeing what people are paying for their groceries with? I don't give a damn what the people ahead or behind me in line are doing, and if some cashier is complaining about how I pay for my groceries with other customers and I find out about it you can bet your ass I'm going to be having a conversation with the store manager.

[KansDem]

13. As a adherent of salmon as healthy eating...

...I must say I hope food-stamp users are not banned from purchasing salmon. I think we as a nation need recognize that the poorest of our citizens need healthy food and we should make certain they have access to that healthy food.

On edit: This goes for all healthy food that may be seen as "luxurious."