By Maria-Paula
A recent proposal in Congress aimed at restricting food items that the Supplemental Nutrition Food Program, SNAP, beneficiaries can purchase in stores has met sharp criticism across America. The proposal prohibits citizens enrolled in the program from purchasing snacks, fruit juice, and soda, not limited to beverages that are low calorie or zero sugar using their benefits.
Critics argue that the proposal undermines SNAP consumers the right to choose in grocery stores, stripping them of self-respect and dignity by portraying them as incapable of responsible decision making.
Despite Congress’ best efforts to keep the government open, it’s also hard at work to re-authorize affordable food by enabling farmers to insure their crops and give ranchers the advantage to export their products to foreign markets. This is viewed as one of the most important bills Congress can send to the president’s desk and help lower food prices for citizens.
With some in Congress thinking that getting it “right” means restricting certain consumers’ food items as “wrong” to buy, congressman Marco Rubio and others are perceived to be jamming a misguided idea into the farm bill. The legislative process is hard enough as it is, but it becomes significantly more difficult as individual members of Congress and D.C. special interest groups seek to attach pet projects and/or priorities to what should be bipartisan legislation. Nevertheless, it’s easy for a few lawmakers to derail the progress on must-pass legislation in Congress.
“The bottom line is that consumers deserve to have choices in the grocery store. SNAP recipients are Americans in need and are fully capable of making their own food choices therefore limiting their options stigmatizes them as incapable of responsible decision-making,” said John Burnett, an adjunct assistant professor, New York University.
Burnett, also a business and political analyst, added that putting the government in the position of choosing what people should serve their families is not right. He describes it as a slippery slope that would open the door to a government good-food or bad-food list that could apply to other everyday items on the grocery list.
That some in Congress thought getting it “right” meant restricting certain consumers’ food items as “wrong” to buy is a problem Burnett says should not be encouraged and likened it to the equivalent of putting the federal government in between consumers and the products they enjoy.
Critics say the basis of the idea is about removing choice, but the authors of the so-called “Healthy SNAP Act” claim it’ll help reduce spending, although available data doesn’t support it. Results show that SNAP recipients will still have the same quantity in benefits.
SNAP beneficiaries hold the view that lawmakers could look at generating savings by capping benefits, implementing work requirements, and reducing the overall size of the program.
Americans can make good choices that promote healthier eating habits, but restricting the treats parents buy their kids is not seen as the solution but a shortsighted and ineffective approach that infringes on individual freedom, further stigmatizing lower-income communities, with no yield in savings as Senator Rubio is promising. Instead, a focus on real policies that improve access to nutritious foods and empower all individuals, regardless of their income, to make healthier choices is the option Congress should consider.
“As Republicans, we are proud to be the party of individual choice and freedom. These foundational principles are essential to the promise of liberty for all – that we trust our fellow Americans to make their own life choices, even if we don’t agree with them. I’m proud to subscribe to these values, which is why it is important we push back on ideas from within our party that restrict the ability for us to make our own decisions,” said Burnett.
The values championed by critics should apply everywhere for equality and fairness and lawmakers are therefore urged to reverse course on their misguided SNAP restriction proposal. The last thing Americans need is more nanny state decrees from politicians who think they know best for them.