August 19, 2011

Feds reject Bloomberg's anti-obesity experiment.

Not because it's too much nannyism. It's just too much trouble.
Federal officials on Friday rejected Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposal to bar New York City’s food stamp users from buying soda and other sugary drinks with their benefits....
But in a letter Friday, an administrator of the food stamp program in Washington said the city’s proposed experiment would have been “too large and complex” to implement and evaluate.

16 comments:

rhhardin said...

I'd encourage them allow lottery ticket purchases with food stamps.

It not only combats obesity but also returns the money to the state.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

But in a letter Friday, an administrator of the food stamp program in Washington said the city’s proposed experiment would have been “too large and complex” to implement and evaluate.

More complex than the let's vote for it to find out what's in it... complex.

avwh said...

" an administrator of the food stamp program in Washington said the city’s proposed experiment would have been “too large and complex” to implement and evaluate"

Could we get that administrator to opine on the complexity of Obamacare??

Tim said...

"“too large and complex” to implement and evaluate."

Just like Obamacare.

But their boss, and Democrat base, wanted that.

Fools.

coketown said...

Let's congratulate Mayor Bloomberg for this. He's crafted a system that even the federal government thought was too large and complex. Which settles the age-old question of big government true believers: Can the government create a bureaucracy so complex that it cannot administer it? Apparently so.

edutcher said...

Reminds me of the justification for Affirmative Action, "Because we don't want to spend the time and money to enforce the Civil Rights Acts".

The Lefties really are a pack of phonies. For all their "tolerance" and "compassion", the people in their charge are just so much meat.

Synova said...

How can it be too much trouble?

Any store has a list of things a person can get with food stamps, just update the list for New York. They'll be selling soda in Jersey, but so?

Not that I think for a moment it's a good idea or that Bloomberg isn't a fascist in heart and practice, of course.

David said...

It's too hard, Mommie.

Anonymous said...

Synova's right. Food stamps are already limited. You can't buy just anything with them. So add some things to the list of food items not included. What's so hard about that?

However, given that this is food stamps, I disagree that there's a nanny state angle.

Heart_Collector said...

Im fat and I accept it as a byproduct of my lifestyle and diet. Im ok with it (I am not on food stamps).

Michelle Obama needs to work on her own cellulite bubbled ass if shes so worried about it.

Food Stamps.... If your going to dictate what people are going to buy with them wouldnt it be easier to just sent them a package each month with their alloted blah blah blahs that are approved by blah blah blahs?

I remember being younger and people would come around to the fire department and sell lobsters and shrimp for cash. We had alot of good cook outs.

Eric said...

The one thing would-be free people have going for them is large, nosy governments are too inefficient to be be practical as anything other than tyrannies.

You can have a Soviet-style distopia. You can't have a Soviet-style utopia.

Gene said...

I have often though if you didn't allow people who had cellphones flat screen TVs to collect welfare benefits the number of people collecting those benefits would sharply fall.

Of course, that could never happen. Welfare advocates would argue that a 41 inch flat screen TV with an 800 channel cable connection is now a public right.

JAL said...

Mmm. I was under the impression (false, seemingly) that soda (tonic, pop, whatever you call it) was not covered by food stamps.

As several others mentioned there are restrictions.

How do stores without scanners deal with the other non-foodstamp foods?

That being said, I think food stamps should be restricted. I just think Bloomberg is way out of line (as usual) to presume he can write the rules for this program in his city -- and tell companies how to formulate their foods.

His food rules are incredibly intrusive and somebody needs to pull his chain. (I cannot believe New Yorkers allowed him to rewrite the rules to get run for a third term -- and then voted for him!)

Gaaahhhck.

JAL said...

Perhaps the way to deal with the obesity problem is to take it off the disabilities list so that obese people cannot litigate based on their obesity as a disability?

If someone can't fit in an airplane seat -- and needs two -- do they pay for two?

Instead of trying to control everyone's behavior to fix a behavioral problem which affects some, the focus should be on the individuals, not the group?

MPH said...

If we must have food stamps, I have no problem limiting their use to staple foods.

C berg said...

Ignorant comments on this list, the problem with restricting certain foods is that its like washington politics, much like the school lunch program in which pizza is allowed because it has tomatoes,

Are nachos disallowed, but tacos allowed,is concentrated OJ allowed,
posters seem to be ignorant that food is only junk depending on diet/needs

Mayor bloomberg would not ban sugary strawberry shakes,juices,
but would ban a half a teaspoon of honey in a cup of tea because it has 11 calories as opposed to 10.

Considering that a glazed doughnut
is often healthier than a bagel.