Should people be allowed to buy cigarettes with food stamps?

[LoZoccolo]

[CurtEastPoint]

1. No. Cigarettes are not food. And I smoke, OK? n/t

[rucky]

2. Should people be allowed to buy food stamps with cigarettes?

[Yeshuah Ben Joseph]

30. Only in prison

where cigarettes are considered legal tender.

[ZombieHorde]

3. Cigerettes should be added to the WIC program, not the food stamp program. nt

[leftstreet]

4. Cigarettes should be free!!!!11111

[Cetacea]

105. So should cars and cas! 1111!

[Cetacea]

106. Car driving anti-smokers. Gotta luv em.

:hide:

[CoffeeCat]

5. Uhhh...that's a HELL NO...

Ridiculous.

[petronius]

6. Yes, but if they do decide to buy cigarettes they should also be required to buy cheese sandwiches

for all the rich kids at the local school...

[Earth_First]

7. Candy? Soda?

...granulated sugar?

Should we impose strict vegetarian or vegan diets on food stamp recipients too?

[devilgrrl]

8. I didn't think you were ever allowed to...

:crazy:

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[TexasObserver]

10. You make a lot of sense.

But I still had to vote NO.

[KansasVoter]

12. LOL......need a cig I see!

[scarletwoman]

16. My vote on this crap poll has nothing to do with cigarettes or food stamps.

It has solely to do with monkey-wrenching, which is the only sane and honorable response to bullshit.

[pipi_k]

62. Actually...

the only sane and honorable response to bullshit is to hit the "unrec" button, then hit the "hide thread" button without leaving a comment, because comments only kick the topics up to the top of the list.


In other words, if something is "bullshit", why play along or enable it?

[Blue-Jay]

15. That's kind of his schtick.

Oasis is a good band. <--- That is a shit statement.

[Canuckistanian]

20. Aw, damn

I never looked at the poster before voting.

Suckered again.

[Blue-Jay]

26. You have to admit it. He's good at what he does.

*DUer sees post*


*DUer realizes who posted it*

[flvegan]

32. Score one for Oasis!

[Blue-Jay]

35. Oasis scores one, because they recorded one good song.

[flvegan]

38. They did?

[Blue-Jay]

39. Yeah. It was the live version of that tune where they beat the crap out of each other.

[dionysus]

99. oasis is the worst beatles cover band in history...

[awoke_in_2003]

116. "She turned me into a newt...

I'm better now"

[sabrina 1]

50. I agree, and I just voted 'yes'. .

Better yet would be to avoid these threads completely which I usually do. And will from now on. Nothing but an attempt to get a rise out of people.

It doesn't meant anything, the yes vote, because the OP is, as you say, just another piece of nonsense with a very transparent purpose.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

59. Ditto. :)

[muffin1]

69. OMG

I'm so glad to see you! I took a break for a few months, and haven't seen you since I returned.
I hope you are doing well! :hi:

[Dr.Phool]

61. This poll is irrelevent nonsense.

[DebJ]

11. I refuse to vote, but need to add many items are restricted

from food stamps, and even without toilet paper or soap, you can't feed yourself or your family nutritionally on the amounts given. Other exclusions include any hot foods, preprepared foods, etc.

[Lost-in-FL]

13. People should mind their own business. nt

[KillCapitalism]

14. No & anyway...

why the hell would anyone waste their food stamps on crap like cigs?

[Canuckistanian]

17. My goodness

So many DUers who want to make judgments on what poor people do with their money.

NOBODY likes to have "moral strings" attached to what they accept as charity.

If tobacco is so abhorrent to you , then why not focus your energies on banning tobacco products entirely?

Why focus on the poor?

[scarletwoman]

18. The OP doesn't give a shit about tobacco. He just likes to stir up shit. (nt)

[Madam Mossfern]

58. Sorry,

but since when are cigarettes considered food? Food stamps are intended to FEED families, and yes when it is funded by tax dollars, limitations may be set on use, just like any other 'grant.' Think about what FOOD could be bought for the price of a pack of cigarettes.

[Renew Deal]

19. Depends. Can they eat the cigarettes?

:shrug:

[eShirl]

92. Should people be allowed to buy Depends with food stamps?

[Gemini Cat]

21. I wonder how DB Cooper would answer this:

Would he buy cigarettes with food stamps?
:shrug:

[leveymg]

22. Absolutely! We should also flood minority neighborhoods with crack cocaine.

Er, guess they already tried that. . . how about free beer in exchange for votes? Step right up there to the wagon, gents. Vote early, and vote often!

[kestrel91316]

23. No. They are non-nutritive. Even worse than liquor in that regard.

[McCamy Taylor]

24. Where is the "Hell, no!" selection?

[scarletwoman]

25. Even you? Salivating at the sound of Pavlov's bell?

Buying into an absurdity just so you can vent a little outrage?

I'm dismayed.

This bullshit poll deserves no serious consideration, it's nothing but an attention-getting ploy by someone who has never once demonstrated good faith on this board.

[demwing]

27. And yet you keep posting to it and kicking it back to the top

4 times so far

[scarletwoman]

33. It's my obviously futile attempt to urge people to actually *think*.

It's also fascinating to watch how many knee-jerkers there are.

[pipi_k]

66. And that is because...

you're the only one here who has the capacity to think?


The rest of us are just a bunch of mental midgets in the exalted Presence of a genius?


Wow. Arrogance to the max.

[pipi_k]

67. Geez, no kidding, huh?

When I see something I think is "bullshit", I just unrec it and then click on "hide thread" without leaving a reply and go on to something more worthwhile.

Why would someone keep kicking bullshit to the top of the pile?

[jdp349]

28. Food stamps are roughly fungible so they indirectly already allow people to do so

Food stamps or SNAP benefits just free up cash with which recipients can do anything.

It depends on their consumption preferences how they'll allocate their resources but it's pretty certain that if budget in any way constrains cigarette consumption, effectively increasing their income in any way will also lead to increase in cigarette consumption.

Holding moral hazard effects constant, the most cost effective welfare policy is direct cash payments that way you save on needless administrative costs.

[Imagevision]

29. I prefer to not decide on how others live their lives. should they buy condumbs?

[pstokely]

31. They shouldn't be allowed to buy junk food either

blame the candy companies

[jmowreader]

34. Isn't this the same fucking guy...

who wanted to know if we thought you should be able to buy weed with food stamps?

And the answer is not just no, but FUCK NO! I could kinda see allowing diapers to be bought with them, but not any other non-food item.

[kenny blankenship]

36. On the scale of Things To Get Oneself Worked Up Into High Dudgeon About, this rates 1.0x10-6

Let's revisit the question when we've freed this country from the Mafia of Wall Street banks, the Insurance Ghouls, the Wars for empire, the deathgrip of Petrochemical Addiction, and the Job Exporting Treaties and Tax Incentives, OK?

You know, the problem with this political party is not really that it doesn't address itself to Big Problems, the problem is that this party no longer even sees or admits to itself what big problems for its constituencies ARE. The above list is a partial enumeration of BIG TICKET PROBLEMS - scandals and plagues and poochscrewings that have put this country on its back with its feet up in the air. What the very poorest Americans choose to buy with the tiny amounts of money they have, however they get it, doesn't amount to mouse fart in a hurricane. It really doesn't.

For thirty years the Democratic Party has drifted right with the Republican Carnival of Hatred, taking its eyes off of macro politics and getting mired in Kulturkampf struggles and scapegoating of the least powerful classes of our society. All to curry favor with the rich and the upper middle classes - and all for NAUGHT. I would have thought that thirty years of watching the Democrats peel away and join Repukes in demonizing the poor and the social programs intended to aid them would have been enough for rank and file Dems. I would have thought thirty years of this shit was enough for us all to say ENOUGH ALREADY!- seeing as how falling prey to distractions and traps like this has led us to the current abyss of our national condition. But apparently we're still suckers for it.

[Blue-Jay]

37. Don't try to confuse people with that "scientific notation"nonsense.

We all know that smart people prefer pie to cake (or death). I'll admit that I read "poochscrewings" as "porchswings" and then I stopped paying attention because honestly what sort of person dislikes porch swings? So on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate cake as a 9, and porch swings as a 7, an pooch-screwing as a 0.

[awoke_in_2003]

117. wanna know something...

I read "poochscrewings" as "porchscrewings" and thought- well it may not afford the best privacy, but who wouldn't like one?

[walldude]

40. Should people be allowed to post totally inane shit

that has nothing to do with anything and serves no purpose other than to stir up shit? Why YES they should! I guess nobody went for your little "deal" huh... :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[proteus_lives]

41. No. And I smoke and I wouldn't want that.

[Crunchy Frog]

42. Only if they're planning on eating them.

[WingDinger]

43. Should people be allowed to have sex when they are unemployed?

Or should they havee to turn in their tv? Hock the kids? Daydream? Masturbate?

[Dr.Phool]

63. Or have a cigarette afterwards?

[XRubicon]

44. Operation Chaos II in full gear...

[me b zola]

45. Ugh

I'm so tired of the obsession of what poor people may or may not do with the crumbs that are thrown to them to exist on. The wealthiest of the US are the recipients of much more of our welfare dollars, do we really need to continue to beat the poor?

unfreakingrecommend :thumbsdown:

[MrSlayer]

48. Seriously, the priorities in the country are so backward.

I really have nothing to add. You've said it correctly.

[awoke_in_2003]

118. As to your sig pic...

you know Lemmy is only taking care of that lamb so he can cook him :)

[sabrina 1]

51. I agree. If the rich get to do what they want

with the money they mostly get from taxpayers, then so should the poor.

Very well said btw. Amazing how a stupid poll like this shows up the prejudices against the poor. But then I believe that was the intention.

[pipi_k]

112. Prejudices against the poor?

I was poor at one time.

so poor that I kept empty packages and boxes on my pantry shelf to make it look like I had loads of food when I really didn't.


If I asked for a specific type of help, I didn't turn around and use whatever I was given to buy something else.

People on welfare get little enough as it is. I don't know how anyone could live with him or herself knowing that the money (or foodstamps if buying cigarettes was allowed) that should have been used to feed his or her family was going to support an addiction. That's what smoking is, plain and simple. An addiction.

And I don't care how much money a person has. If someone comes to me asking for specific help and I give it to him, he'd damn well better use the help I gave him for the reason he gave me. I don't like being lied to, and I don't like being taken advantage of, no matter who's doing it. If someone wants cigarettes, say so. If someone wants booze, say so. If someone asks for money for food but buys cigarettes or booze, they can go to hell.

[sabrina 1]

119. And if a cigarette helps someone get through the day

without killing themselves, it's okay with me. If I give someone money I don't ask them what they are going to do with it. I don't HAVE to give it. But if I do, it is the giving that is important, to let them know that someone cares about them. If they are hungry enough they will buy food. If they need something else to help them cope with their lives, then that is their decision, just as it is for the rich.

Funny how you never see anyone telling the rich how to spend their money. And where does most of THEIR money come from? Do you think those crooks on Wall St. we bailed out gave up their booze or drugs or cigarettes? Did anyone even ask about it?

When the same rules apply to Corporate Welfare Gang as applies to the poor, I'll think about it. Meantime, equal rights for all as far as I am concerned. If the rich can use our tax dollars for their fixes, so can the poor.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

46. Why Are Your Questions Always Loaded?

~

[KG]

103. mostly, they're a pantload,

[Ozymanithrax]

47. Cigarettes are not food...they are a legal pleasure drug. n/t

[JackBeck]

49. Only if they are candy cigarettes and you get a free 2-liter of soda to wash them down. n/t

[shugah]

52. actually, if a food stamp recipient uses coupons...

...using coupons results in actual cash dollars back at the end of the food stamp transaction, and the $ can be used to buy a pack of smokes. or some toilet paper.

at least that is the way it used to be, in some states.

i agree with most posts above - stupid poll because no one can buy cigarettes or any other non-FOOD item with FOOD stamps.

[asdjrocky]

53. Only children under 12.

[Obamanaut]

54. Why the obsession with polls/food stamps? There are polls re

food stamps vs organic foods, marijuana, alcohol, soft drinks et al, all in the OP stable of polls.

[Enrique]

80. because people can be mean n/t

[ileus]

55. You have to hit cash back with the government card to buy ciggs...

[boston bean]

56. Yes, because if you smoke you eat less.

:smoke:

[elocs]

57. So. 122 people got snookered into actually voting "no" in this "poll"

and another 29 voted "yes". It kinda makes me wonder about things here at DU.

[Madam Mossfern]

65. Why do you care

about how many people posted in the poll? I don't come here that often and don't really know the agenda of many posters. The question is legitimate. As someone who works for a welfare agency I have had client's sitting with me who smell of tobacco and hungrily eye the apple on my desk. And yes, I do offer it up. But it is more of an issue of education about nutrition and making choices that effect their life and that of their children. To ignore the lack of knowledge of some in basics of nutritional necessities is to keep those very people in the underclass, as their children will not do as well in school or in life because of poor food choices.

[elocs]

73. Why do you care that I care? I care because I can.

No, the question is not legitimate and you would know it if you came here more often.

[Madam Mossfern]

75. Would it be legitimate if

someone else posed it? You don't see it as an issue, albeit a minor one?

[pipi_k]

76. That's what makes me laugh about people sometimes....

and it's not just here at DU...



If it's posted by a friend, it's a work of genius.

If it's posted by someone people don't like, it's "bullshit".


:+

[Zephie]

60. last time I checked, cigarettes were not edible

[Darth_Kitten]

68. +1

:)

[Yeahyeah]

64. The lungs digest smoke in same way as the stomach digests other types of food,such as tobacco juice,

so,yes.

[Upton]

70. Absolutely no way..

allowing food stamps to be used in the buying of a product that is detrimental to the health not only of the user, but that of his or her loved ones? It's a ridiculous notion. I'm actually surprised that some folks voted "yes"

[pipi_k]

71. I guess they never

watched a friend or family member die from lung cancer or some other pulmonary disease.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

72. Yes, And Condoms, Porn Videos, And Love Potions

Another dumb poll from one of the usual suspects.

[aikoaiko]

74. I'm even OK with limited food choices like WIC let alone not allowing tobacco producuts.

[DainBramaged]

77. Why do we continue to want to be the Nanny party?

:shrug:

[Ichingcarpenter]

78. Why does the Earth turn and why is thread here

Think about it.........LoL...... It's so deep, heavy and has so much
Gravity on reality

[Enrique]

79. should bankers be allowed to buy cigarettes with bailout money? n/t

[Autumn]

81. None of my fucking business what

they buy.

[Madam Mossfern]

82. Then why are they called

"food stamps?"

[Autumn]

83. So. I don't care, It's given to them by the

Government because they qualify for "assistance" .Who are we to tell people what they can buy or what they need.Just like I would never buy food from a fast food restaurant and give it to a person who has a sign asking for help. I give them a couple of bucks and they can buy what they need.
None of my fucking business.

[pipi_k]

86. Money. It buys cigarettes.

Food stamps....they buy food.


That's kind of why they're called food stamps.

[Madam Mossfern]

87. Actually the "assistance"

is in the form of a welfare grant. Food stamps are totally separate.
Get your facts straight please.

[Autumn]

113. You are so cute when you get all indignant

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: the facts are, I am not a nanny.

[Upton]

85. We could always change the name to "cancer stamps"

[WolverineDG]

84. anyone who votes "no" hates poor people

:sarcasm:

that's usually how things run around here when people are asked to :gasp: actually pay for things or some business owner has to raise prices in order to stay in business & not have to lay off their employees.



dg

[Nikia]

88. The idea of food stamps is for buying food

One could argue that it should also be allowed for other needed items but it is not. I think that the idea is that it forces poor people to use that money for food so they and their families don't starve. Maybe that is paternalistic but I think that is the idea. Sometimes I wonder if it is actually a form of a agriculturual/food industry subsidy, but I don't know how much the existence of food stamps boosts food consumption. People need to eat regardless after all.
Freeing up that money can enable poor people to buy various necessary items and even ones that aren't so beneficial like cigarettes.
We could argue that food stamps should be discontinued and the money go directly to the poor instead, but that is a different question.

[pipi_k]

94. That's true, and I think what many people either don't realize, or don't remember is...

that in the late 60s - early 70s...at least in Mass...we didn't get food stamps.

We got to choose from some truly wonderful options the government gave us.

All of it came in plain white packaging with stark black letters telling us what was inside. Five pound blocks of orange cheese (like Velveeta), cans of something that looked like shredded chicken meat (could have been USDA-inspected roadkill for all we knew), one-pound blocks of butter, packages of dehydrated egg, boxes of powdered milk, boxes of elbow macaroni, and other culinary delights. If we wanted any other kind of food...like, oh...a hamburger or a fresh salad... we had to use money to buy it.

We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese when I was a kid, and we were glad to have it.

People yelling about the !!NANNY STATE!! don't even want to go there. At least people get a choice of what food they want to buy with food stamps.

[dionysus]

108. remember the peanut butter in the huge industrial cardboard canister?

i remember the powdered milk.

[pipi_k]

111. Oh god, the peanut butter...

Ours came in a large metal can with a plastic lid, sort of the same as what the shortening came in. We always had to stir it up because the oil would separate.

That powdered milk was the absolute worst. My mother used to mix it up 50/50 with regular milk to make it go further, but there wasn't any way to disguise the taste.

:puke:

[janewin]

89. If you cannot buy glue

with food stam then no, but isnt cigarette products regulated by the FDA?

[TroglodyteScholar]

90. Fuck no!

They're food stamps, not poison stamps.

[datasuspect]

91. cigs? no

hookers and crack? HELLS YES!!!!1111

[Iggo]

93. Yes...

...because I don't hate poor people. ;)

[TheKentuckian]

95. Yes and meth as well.

Just to be contrary to the corporatist noise machine wagon you roll in.

[taterguy]

96. Tobacco and meth are your state's only exports right?

No wonder you voted yes.

[TheKentuckian]

120. We have plentiful quality weed, bourbon, and ponies as well.

[austin78704]

97. Disappointing results

Republicans are supposed to be the party of intrusion.

I don't especially like the idea of people buying cigarettes with their food stamps, but if we get into the business of telling people what they can and can't do, we eventually have to draw the line somewhere. Soda? Who are we to disallow recreation to people because they're poor? Box of cookies for the kids? They're neither necessary of healthy, and a solid argument can be made that they're are unhealthy. Whole milk, or just reduced fat milk? Or no reduced fat milk?

I'd rather trust people to make their own decisions, even if those are bad decisions.

[pipi_k]

109. No cookies...poor kids!!!

Let's see...butter or shortening

milk

flour

sugar

all allowed on food stamps


put them all together and put into the oven...


OMG!!!! COOKIES!!!!


Soda...how much is a can of soda? A dollar? If it's an occasional treat, then a dollar or two a month probably isn't going to break anyone's budget.

[dbt]

98. Is a shit poll.

:evilgrin:

[dionysus]

100. no, but can we buy Oasis CDs with food stamps, so we can burn them?

[Alexander]

101. By "burn" you mean incinerate, right? The proper way to use Oasis CDs.

[dionysus]

102. did you know if you douse a cd in petrol and burn it on the sidewalk, it leaves an imprint?

you can almost hear liam and noel screaming....

[Name removed]

104. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dionysus]

107. .

:spray:

[Whisp]

110. YES!

for gawds sakes

they can buy anything the hell they want.

fer crissakes.

I'm sure not interested in poking my nose in other people's shopping bags.

goodness peoples!

lol.

*sigh

[Nye Bevan]

114. Philip Morris thanks the 18% who votes "Yes",

Taxpayers' money for poor people to spend on cigarettes! A tobacco company exec's wet dream!

[pipi_k]

115. They sure do...not to mention

the numbers of people without adequate health care options fucking up their bodies and then complaining when they get sick and can't afford treatment for pulmonary diseases caused by cigarettes.


"Oh look! A pond...I can't swim and I don't have a floatation device, but that's OK...I'm going to jump in anyway! Oh shitdamnfuck... I'm drowning...someone SAVE ME!!! Why won't you bastards DO something???? Why do you hate drowning people???"

Oy.

:eyes: