COMMENTARY | Lawmakers in Florida are putting forth a bill that would prohibit the use of food stamps to purchase items such as soda, candy, cake and ice cream. This is not the first such proposal. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also attempted to disallow the purchase of soft drinks by food stamp recipients but his request was denied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Are these valid attempts to fight obesity and related diseases or is this simply more intrusive government interference into the lives of citizens?
There are two important things to remember in this discussion. The first is that anytime you accept money from anyone, whether it is a family member, friend, or governmental entity, you are in effect allowing them to direct to some extent how that money is to be spent. The second point is that of the proper role of government in the lives of private citizens. Just how much control should any government have over its people?
Personally I have no issues with the government having some input over purchases that can be made with benefits which the government is providing to an individual. There are some legitimate boundaries which have been made. For instance, food stamp recipients cannot buy alcohol or cigarettes with government funds. This is perfectly justifiable and it is the logical result of accepting government benefits. However, telling someone that they are not allowed to buy a Coke for themselves or a candy bar for one of their children is ridiculous. That is too much interference by the government. This is exactly the type of governmental interference that terrifies millions of people at the thought of Obamacare. If the government decrees that a private citizen can not buy ice cream with government money because it could harm the individual’s health, what other even more intrusive governmental dictates could be made as a result of the government paying for all aspects of healthcare nationwide?
Rather than putting more and more restrictions on what food stamp recipients can buy, why not do more to limit the fraud involved in this program and others? Everyone knows someone or has heard of someone that trades governmental benefits for half the nominal amount in cash so that they can do with it what they wish. I would rather see people buying enough candy to make a Halloween pumpkin blush than trading the benefits for cash to buy drugs, alcohol and the like.