Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about the GOP and punishing the poor.

A number of Republican-led states are asking for waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture

so they can restrict the types of food purchased by those on SNAP.

They want to restrict the purchase of items to those they deem, quote, healthy, nutritious food.

Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas have all requested similar waivers.

They don't want people getting SNAP to be able to buy highly processed

food, and specifically soda, candy, chips, cookies, or energy drinks. Now, this is all being done

under the guise of keeping people healthy. So, I'm guessing Republicans have given up on their plans to cut Medicaid in a way that will

leave many of these exact same people without health care, right? I have a hard time believing that,

considering most of those states have trigger laws about Medicaid expansion. I'm not buying the we want to keep the poor healthy talking

point one bit. It seems to me that because low-income people in this country have been

villainized so much, anything that kicks down at them and reduces the assistance they get in any

way is something politicians can convince people to go

along with. It's as easy as taking candy from a baby. Well, of course, in this case, it's literally

taking candy from a baby. About 40% of SNAP recipients are children. It seems to me like it's a punishment for being low income.

If it was really about health and the government felt that strongly about restricting these items

because they're bad for your health, why is every single one of these items available in the BX or

commissary? You know, on military bases, where the

government has a genuine direct interest in making sure the people shopping in those locations

stay healthy. I can actually feel the looks I'm getting from service members right now.

It's coming right through the camera. Don't worry.

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