Comment: I think that supporting a drug addicts habit is not beneficial to the whole public. If there were to be a welfare system that encompasses all Americans, we would have to regulate the monies distributed to the drug addicts.
As it stands right now with the welfare system anybody can get food assistance and use their $ for drugs, or they get cash assistance and still spend the $$ on drugs. The only way to prevent this is to drug test everybody at their 1 year mark or even randomly. No Cash assistance to drug addicts!
Also, regarding food stamps, we should put restrictions on what is available to purchase. Obesity is a major problem, but still food stamps are used for candy, chips, soda, and other obviously unhealthy choices. If we restricted those items we would not only save the government $$ because less $$ would be needed by individuals but we would also be helping America become more healthy.
Thank you for your time.
Michele M.
Response: Good comment. Yes, in any system that distributes a lot of money, there will be people who try to scam the system. The ComingTogether Plan would reduce this abuse in two ways:
Few illegal drugs are purchased with credit cards, which is the method that theComingTogether Planuses to distribute all benefits.
The general assistance in the ComingTogether Planwill not be available for a certain list of products (see Benefits page – “general benefit”). This list would certainly deny eligibility to purchase illegal drugs. Details of the final list are not within the current scope of our proposal.
As to unhealthy food purchases, the Food Stamp benefits currently vary from state to state. The legislators would be faced with the same decisions on this ComingTogether Planas they face in the current one: what foods should be approved or disapproved? The restriction we mention against processed / prepared foods would eliminate many unhealthy foods (high sodium, high sugar, high in preservatives items). While believing freedom is important, we welcome discussion on parameters that would encourage healthier choices.
On the Administrative Agencies page, we note the need for a Commission to determine details on what purchases can be made with each type of benefit. These would be the people that would address both of your concerns. (Unfortunately, this will leave lobbyists fully employed.)
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am and is filed under Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Help drug addicts?
Comment: I think that supporting a drug addicts habit is not beneficial to the whole public. If there were to be a welfare system that encompasses all Americans, we would have to regulate the monies distributed to the drug addicts.
As it stands right now with the welfare system anybody can get food assistance and use their $ for drugs, or they get cash assistance and still spend the $$ on drugs. The only way to prevent this is to drug test everybody at their 1 year mark or even randomly. No Cash assistance to drug addicts!
Also, regarding food stamps, we should put restrictions on what is available to purchase. Obesity is a major problem, but still food stamps are used for candy, chips, soda, and other obviously unhealthy choices. If we restricted those items we would not only save the government $$ because less $$ would be needed by individuals but we would also be helping America become more healthy.
Thank you for your time.
Michele M.
Response: Good comment. Yes, in any system that distributes a lot of money, there will be people who try to scam the system. The ComingTogether Plan would reduce this abuse in two ways:
As to unhealthy food purchases, the Food Stamp benefits currently vary from state to state. The legislators would be faced with the same decisions on this ComingTogether Planas they face in the current one: what foods should be approved or disapproved? The restriction we mention against processed / prepared foods would eliminate many unhealthy foods (high sodium, high sugar, high in preservatives items). While believing freedom is important, we welcome discussion on parameters that would encourage healthier choices.
On the Administrative Agencies page, we note the need for a Commission to determine details on what purchases can be made with each type of benefit. These would be the people that would address both of your concerns. (Unfortunately, this will leave lobbyists fully employed.)
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at 10:36 am and is filed under Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.