Here's my crazy stimulus idea: Why not give everyone food stamps?

[Hello_Kitty]

Before you scoff, hear me out. Most of us have seen the chart that demonstrates that food stamps result in the most return on investment to the economy, something like $1.73 to every dollar spent, while most kinds of tax cuts result in little, if any, return. So my idea is to greatly expand food stamps to include practically everyone, or maybe put a very high income limit on it. This would not only stimulate the economy but it might also encourage healthier eating because you wouldn't be able to use them for fast food.

What do y'all think?

[ck4829]

1. Had this same exact idea in my own head a while back

Food is a million times more important than home lenders or profit margins, I think that would be a good idea.

[wryter2000]

2. Another suggestion

Ralph Nader actually came up with a good one the other day. Give people coupons that have to be spent on goods. I'd add services. Similar to your idea but a bit broader.

[soothsayer]

6. venezuala recently gave out big rebates you could only use on large aplpliances or cars

prolly where nader heard it

[glinda]

3. Because you can only buy crappy unhealthy food with it

[Lance_Boyle]

12. what grocery store only stocks "crappy unhealthy food?"

Yeah, OK - you can't spend your food stamps at "trader joe" or whatever the yuppie store-of-the-year might be. That's because your yuppie-ass organix-only boutique store decides not to take them. Spend them at Kroger. They take food stamps. And they offer a lot more than "crappy unhealthy food." The granola boutiques can just shut the fuck up and continue to sell their overprices organic twigs and tree bark to overpaid morons - the rest of us could enjoy subsidized good food at all sorts of grocery establishments.

[Hello_Kitty]

17. I'm pretty sure TJ's takes food stamps.

Any merchant would be an idiot not to.

[roguevalley]

18. snort. kind of in your face but I hear ya. apparently if you can't buy

at whole foods, you eat crap. :)

[a la izquierda]

23. I can't buy at whole food...

but i don't buy garbage.

I'm an overpaid yuppie moron who eats twigs.:eyes:

[glinda]

28. That is what I mean...not garbage but at least milk without BST and other things.

I notice coupons even generally are for pretty unhealthy foods and products. Once in a while they are for okay things but mostly not.

[lukasahero]

35. Don't expect people here to understand

I can't afford to shop at Whole Foods exclusively either but for a long time there weren't any options in the every day grocery stores. It's only in the last few years that these stores have started stocking any gluten free products and finding anything in a regular grocery store that doesn't have HFCS is still nearly impossible.

I don't expect the DU masses to understand or care.

[a la izquierda]

36. Yeah, I hear you.

My husband and I are pretty strict vegetarians. And we live in Oklahoma...so our options in the regular grocery stores are limited.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

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

[glinda]

29. I live in a small town with no co-ops nor TJ's so go eat a twinkie

[eShirl]

13. wrong

fail

[uppityperson]

27. Damn straight! You can't buy none of them healthy ciggies or alcohool with them. damn. or pet food.

no text here

[sutz12]

4. I'd take it. But I'd rather have health care. nt

[Hello_Kitty]

7. I'm thinking purely about stimulus here.

Food stamps give the biggest return because they are spent immediately and generate income in mostly domestic companies.

[terisan]

5. Hmm, considering our massive subsidy to agriculture might be justice in doing so.

[Bryn]

8. It is not a crazy idea

It's a very good idea. I am on SSDI and here in Arkansas. I don't qualify for food stamps, but if I lived in Mass I would have gotten 176.00 a month worth of food stamps. Would help me greatly. I am struggling to buy good food here because of rising costs of food all over. You have to be very very poor in order to qualify for food stamps. I can barely get by with rent, townhouse assoc. fees, electricity, water/sewer, cable (yes, I must have cable because it is the only way I can use videophone for the hearing impaired as well as internet.)

[Hello_Kitty]

9. That sucks!

I figured everyone on SSDI qualified for food stamps.

[K Gardner]

10. Its a damned good idea !

[nichomachus]

11. There are problems with the idea

The main concern would be that they could be used to buy almost anything -- as there are people who currently buy them at a discount.

In other words, if you get a food card, there are people who will buy a $100 card from you for $70. That leaves you free to spend it on cigarettes, drugs, alcohol.

I can foresee a huge black market in EFT cards meant to buy food.

[unblock]

14. right now, the government just wants people to spend money. stimulus.

it actually might HELP matters because there already is a black market in food stamps but if it's greatly expanded, the discount will be even greater. this would give the people who really need the stamps for food a greater incentive to actually use it on food instead of trading it in for a lousy price that doesn't get you much in the way of cigs, drugs, or booze.

[Hello_Kitty]

16. Yeah, I see your point but I don't think it would be much of a problem

The existing black market would certainly be larger, but it would still exist at the margins of society. Most people don't live on cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs and I don't see how giving people food stamps they could possibly trade for cash is going to create large numbers of new addicts. The vast majority of people would buy food with them. The fact that some people will abuse the system (and they already are) is no reason not to consider this.

Besides, what's stopping people from using their tax credits and stimulus checks on booze and cigarettes? Nothing. At least with food stamps they have to make the extra effort to get them.

[roguevalley]

19. they did this in the war with ration cards. it really helped people

and saved a lot of stuff for the war effort. I think we are at war here too and this is a good idea, honey.

[Hannah Bell]

21. someone might cheat, therefore nothing can be done. too bad the same logic

didn't apply to the bank bailout.

how much of that do you think will go to buying coke & money laundering?

banks = drug money launderers

but just some of them

but no food stamps, someone might get some cheap smokes from the deal

& that would bring down the country

[librechik]

15. Moody's Business Report agrees: Food Stamps Most Stimulating of Budget Items

http://endtheecho.wordpress.com/2008/01/25/moodys-on-economic-stimulus-package/

Food Stamps is almost the most stimulating thing you can do for the economy, next to unemployment checks and infrastructure.

They should double the amount each family is getting, and give every citizen $100 worth a week.

This is also a somewhat cheap and subsidized and non-inflationary, because FS are not Dollars, and they are financed by the FDA on a subsidized basis.

[4 t 4]

20. same thing with unemployment

$1.00 in $1.64 out ? Go figure

[Vinca]

24. Maybe there could be an "everything" stamp that could not be turned into cash,

but must be spent on goods of some sort - food, clothing, shoes, whatever.

[Hello_Kitty]

25. Possibly. I concentrated on food stamps because they show the greatest return

They are used immediately and they generate profits for mostly domestic industries.

[Vinca]

26. Good point. Spending on clothes and shoes is better for China's economy than ours.

[cpamomfromtexas]

30. HMMM, interesting, how about making them spendable in farmers markets or for organic foods

[kster]

31. Good idea, heres another crazy one

if you have a 1400.00 mortgage, 500 goes to taxes and insurance 900.00 to the bank, someone with this mortgage could deduct 350 or 400 a month from the banks side for five years, so long as they use that portion to buy a car, remodel, new addition, (everyone has something they want to do to their home) a vacation anywhere in the US, anything that would have a instant impact on creating jobs in the US.

Giving money to the banks didn't work! I guess its up to us to figure it out.





:)

[carlyhippy]

32. sign me up

will keep me from eating out, make good food choices, I am sick and tired of paying over 100.00 a week for like 4 sacks of groceries.

[TheUnspeakable]

33. it's not crazy at all...

a guaranteed $1.73 (for $1.00 spent)in economic activity. Also, anyone out of work, over 18, with a social security # gets unemployment benefits-a guaranteed $1.60 in economic activity (for $1.00 spent) this is guaranteed-no ifs or maybes about it. They know this , yet it's never mentioned. We are so brainwashed in this country to think that spending money on "entitlements" is throwing it away. Nothing could be further from the truth.

[Hello_Kitty]

37. Seriously.

The only reason to oppose entitlement spending is a desire for a society of crushing inequality, where 98% of the population lives in grinding poverty.

[SammyWinstonJack]

34. I am throughly convinced that if it helps out the majority of us working class stiffs, it won't

happen AT ALL, EVER!


The over privileged leaders of this Country, for the most part, don't give a rat'$ a$$ about us.


I wasn't always this cynical. x(

[Occam Bandage]

38. This is what happens when people do not understand what statistics mean. nt

[NeedleCast]

41. Exactly

[slampoet]

39. Give an Arts Grant to a Writer and 6 dollars come back to the economy.

[NeedleCast]

40. Self Delete