Nanny Statism

Michele Obama's heavy socialist hand has reached all the way from Washington to Florida!

Florida state Rep. Ronda Storms has attracted media attention for proposing state legislation that would, among other things, expand the list of foods people can’t purchase with food stamps.

Storms (R) has submitted a bill that would prohibit participants in the federally funded, state-administered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from using food stamps to buy “foods containing trans fats; sweetened beverages, including sodas; sweets, such as Jello, candy, ice cream, pudding, popsicles, muffins, sweet rolls, cakes, cupcakes, pies, cobblers, pastries and doughnuts; and salty snack foods, such as corn-based salty snacks, pretzels, party mix, popcorn and potato chips” and other foods of the unhealthful variety. If passed, the law would also bar food-stamp use in restaurants. The proposed SNAP purchase restrictions are part of a bill targeting what Storms deems inappropriate uses of federal assistance funds.

Seriously, I kind of like this idea if only because it would probably encourage the marketing of foods which are "bill-safe", cheap, nutritious and not loaded up with fat and sugar (fat). I can't see a downside to this - if you're enraged by the poor using government money to buy Twinkies, you gotta look at this as at least an improvement, and if you're equally enraged by the most affordable food being pure swill, then again, woo hoo! Won't pass, of course, because of the Con Agra lobbyists.Still, interesting.