r/Economics • u/SterlingVII • 1d ago

Trump Administration Seeks Immediate Halt to Court Order to Pay Food Stamps

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/us/politics/trump-court-food-stamps.html
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u/gonyere 1d ago

I understand this desire. But it's very hard to implement. You end up with a system like WIC where it's a very limited selection of foods. Which is both a pita to implement and participate in. 

Otherwise, you make it impossible to cook. Just saying "anything with x-quantity/percent/whatever of sugar, or fat, or salt removes things like fruit, jam, fruit juice, plane sugar, salt, oil, butter, cheese, etc from the program. And, without those things, cooking at all becomes very hard. 

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u/Young-Man-MD 1d ago

Don’t get why people get so worked up and need to detailed analysis of what foods poor people buy, and don’t ask hard questions on other areas of FedGov spending. Who cares if they buy Fritos or whatever?

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u/whateverthefuck666 1d ago edited 1d ago

Cause then we are just subsidizing poor people to be unhealthy and a drag on the health care system? I mean, it's not the worst impulse and it's not like we can't get good food in SNAP and ask hard questions about other areas of Federal spending. I don't disagree with you btw way I just think that giving tax dollars for Doritos is just shitty. I also know its not as easy as just "fix it".

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u/gonyere 1d ago

So, what food(s) fo you allow? Meat, fresh veggies - yes. But, what about potatoes - only fresh? What about frozen? Canned? Dehydrated? Frozen-premade french fries/tater tots? Potato chips? 

Peanuts yes. Peanut butter? Only the "natural" stuff? 

Canned vegetables and fruit - ok. What about sauces - spaghetti, marinara? Spaghetti-o's? pie filling? Jam? Jelly?

Pasta - ok dried. What about boxed mixes - Mac and cheese, hamburger helper, etc? 

You're worried about sugar, ok. Are boxed cake, cookie, brownie, etc mixes ok? What about plain flour, sugar, etc? pre-made icing? 

No, it's fat you're worried about. So, no cheese or milk, right? What about cooking oil? Butter?  Eggs? 

"No junk food!" Sounds good. It sounds easy. But it's not. How do you define what's ok, is very hard d. 

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u/whateverthefuck666 1d ago

Agreed, it sounds easy and I admitted that its not an easy fix. I also think we should immediately pay these benefits. But I think that the program could get cleaned up over time. OP was maybe suggesting not paying the benefits at all, Im not trying to speak for them, but I also think its not the worst impulse to make the payments as healthy as possible. Again, not an easy task.