Tuesday, September 18, 2007

"Twinkies, Pop Tarts and steak"

Twinkies
Twinks
Twit
The Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives thinks that if you buy "Twinkies, Pop Tarts and steak" with food stamps, then you probably don't deserve to receive food stamps. Read it and weep.

Rod Jetton wants the food stamp program changed so funds are distributed more fairly.
The elderly and working poor get a slim portion of benefits compared to a welfare parent with multiple children, the Missouri Speaker of the House said at Monday's Ozark Food Harvest Conference at the Clarion Hotel.

Though hunger relief workers witness poverty needs daily, Jetton said many Americans aren't convinced there is a need to help when they observe welfare recipients buying "Twinkies, Pop Tarts and steak" at grocery stores.
Is this guy serious? What difference is it to him, the guy who shut all those people off medicaid, what they eat?

I am amazed that the Speaker of the House would even say something like this!
"Americans pay their taxes, and they want to help other people. We're a generous country," he said. "But they get frustrated when they don't see it going to the people who really need it."
When Speaker Jetton sees someone pay for Twinkies, Pop Tarts and steak with food stamps, he assumes that they don't really need the food stamps.
In his address, Jetton criticized the disparity of a single elderly person getting $10 a month in food stamps while a young single parent with children gets $500 or $600.
The Republican lawmaker advocated legislation raising the minimum allotment to $30
Speaker Jetton, $20 more a month isn't going to make that much difference, especially since all their money is going for medicine. I'm from Missouri, show me where an old person only gets ten bucks a month and show me the person who gets 500 or 600 bucks a month.
Jetton, a 40-year-old Marble Hill native, knows what it's like to rely on food stamps.
While attending Southwest Baptist University, he married a woman and adopted her child. Jetton reluctantly started receiving food stamps in 1988 after he and his wife had another child.
Jetton thought he would get about $20 to help buy items such as orange juice. Instead, he received $388 a month to feed his family.

Jetton, I can't hear what you are saying, your actions are getting in the way. You got $388 a month for you, your wife and 2 kids. Now that you are making the big bucks you don't want anyone else to benefit like you did?
"I'll be honest with you," he said. "I've never eaten as good in my life as I did when I was on food stamps."
That includes the post-food stamp years when he graduated from college, served in the Marine Corps and started a real estate company.
IN my experience anytime someone says, "I'll be honest with you," they are lying big time. Speaker Jetton, maybe you need to sponsor a bill that helps people learn how to buy, eat and cook healthy food. Obviously you need to learn this since you haven't eaten as good in your life as you did when you were on food stamps.
Who are you trying to kid.

2 comments:

Sheila said...

I think there is a tendancy to think that "welfare" recipients should also be wise in what they get with their food stamps. Maybe the speaker needs to start a healthy eating on food stamps class. I think people on food stamps make the same stupid food choices the rest of America is making.

Anonymous said...

So, we were subsidizing his PRIVATE education at SBU by feeding him and his family. Perhaps they should have considered working while going to a PUBLIC institution and then they wouldn't have been eating on our dime.