Republicans block child nutrition bill

Originally posted by crimvelvet
reply to post by buni11687

 

People complain about obesity in today's children and believe me after lifting hundreds of them a year I am one of them. But no one mentions all the soda machines and candy machines in the schools. I was appalled when I found out the local school had those machines feeding kids junk food.

Yep. Coca-cola and other large corps sign contracts with states and localalities to get vending machines in schools. It a money equation. FYI - Part of this iniative is to limit those vending machines.

Second. I do not agree with the "healthy food" idea of the US government. If you eat the food pyramid you end up LOOKING like the food pyramid. All that pasta and bread puts on the pounds. Again I see it in customers every year.

the food pyramid is a scam. It is lobbyed for and constructed by industry schills. It a fiercly political process and 100's of millions of dollars are thrown at DC pols by various food industries everytime the pyramid is up for debate.

So no I do not support this bill, not without reading every single word.

Maybe you should do that then because it seems you would agree with the aim of this bill.

BY THE WAY....JUST IN

Congress Approves Child Nutrition Bill

www.nytimes.com...

Also here..

House Passes Bill To Upgrade School Lunches

The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would upgrade the fare for federally subsidized school meals, clamp down on junk in school vending machines and make it easier for tens of thousands of poor kids to get free meals.

www.npr.org...

reply to post by buni11687


There are mega food corp conglomerates that make most of their money selling cleverly marketed food stuffs, simulated entrees, made with cheaper synthetic and chemical additives, rather than "real" nutritional food.
"Who would buy this stuff?," you ask...

1. The poor. Since these suedo-food products are staples at convenience stores in poor neighborhoods.

2. The middleclass. Advertising aimed at children who will hound busy and exhausted parents until they relent.
This works best if the middle class is kept exhausted and with longer hours and those 12 vacation days a year this is pretty easy.

3. Institutions on a budget like orphanages and schools.
Better foods cost more. This is why the proposal donates 6 cents toward the healthier options.

4. Government Programs - These mega "food" companies present questionable nutritional data and bribe some political hack, to win a contract and suddenly a million pallets are being shipped to the boys overseas. Or purchased as aid to other countries.

It doesn't have to have any actual nutritional value beyond a carbohydrate count since this is an energy unit.
Anyone still falling for that? All the center isle products. Remember? You are supposed to eat foods stored along the perimeters of the supermarkets and avoid those in the center isles because with very few exceptions it is "garbage."


And I hate to sound all right wing or anything but, with passage of this bill maybe half of those who want to join the military will not be turned away because they are too fat to fight.

Oh yeah ..And we would have healthier kids with more positive extended outlooks relieving the health care system of the burden of adult onset diabetes, heart attack and stroke.
Our nutrition strategy should not favor those businesses or companies that make drugs and replacement parts for humans. Do we really feel an obligation to keep them in business?

Good post. Not too many stars because....

People don't understand how wrong they're being done.

reply to post by buni11687


Do you have the bill number so I can read it directly on govetrack.com before I post an emotion-based reply?

reply to post by Protostellar


I like your approach...Very old fashioned, that "research and think before you rant" style.

Here is a bill summary to get you started.

edlabor.house.gov...

edit to add: and here is the bill number for Govtrac...The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (S. 3307)

reply to post by rusethorcain


S&F for the excellent summary

Originally posted by 4nsicphd

Originally posted by buni11687
reply to post by dolphinfan

 

I would support a modification of the food stamp program, where stuff like smokes and alcohol are not allowed to be purchased with food stamps.

It's already unlawful to but cigs or alcohol with food stamps or for the store to sell them See, for example www.floridagovernmentonline.com... .


But the greedy small business darlings of the Tea Party stores sell them anyway.

I is there even a micron of verifiable fact in any of that last line. ??????I don't even know why I waste anytime here.

reply to post by rusethorcain


The last time I checked no corporation forced Coke and Fritos down your gullet. The whole blame the corporation for the inability of adults to make good decisions is old and tired.

My kids eat a healthy diet. They also hound me for junk food. Every kid hounds their parents for junk food - its what kids do.

Parenting is exhausting and frustrating in many cases. If you spend any time with small kids you know that. Adults need to provide leadership to their children and set ground rules, involving all aspects of their life. Kids are not plants - you can't basically ignore them and expect them to grow up properly. You have to think about parenting. Establish priorities, make choices. Fun? A lot of the time no. What you signed up for when you had a child? Yes.

You can get a salad at a fast food spot. You can also by granola bar and a bag of nuts in a convenience store rather than a candy bar or a bag of chips. You can also take a bus to a real store to buy healthy food.

Kids under the poverty level spend on average 8 hours a week more watching TV and playing video games. Why do they have video games? Why are their parents not simply telling them they can not afford video games or cable TV? If you can't afford to feed your kids, that is the responsible thing to do. The other kids (whether or not they should) have video games? Who cares? If you can not properly feed your kids there is no other priority. What are they to do without TV and video games? How about read a book or do their homework. Both are free.

Kids come home from school unfocused? Why do they need focus when they are sitting on the couch playing a PSP game? Clearly based on the high school drop out rates in some of these communities they are not using their school lunch induced focus to do their homework.

Harsh? Perhaps, but not as harsh as leaving kids in environments that are fundamentally unhealthy.

reply to post by buni11687




Does anyone need any more reason to never again vote republican? But no, suckers will continue to give these banker lackies power to screw America in the name of "almighty monetary profits" for those who need it the least.

Wake up America.

Originally posted by NWOnoworldorder
they seem to be passing a hell of a lot of bills this year huh?....do they know something we dont? seems the obama administration wants a lot of things put in place just in case he doesnt get an extended term.....

something fishy is goin on...thats all im saying....something fishy

I'm sorry, can you be more specific?

Are you saying congress passing laws is suspect? If so, i think every congress ever should be equally suspect.

Or is there something specific about the government no letting companies sell you cans of rat poop that you disapprove of?

reply to post by dolphinfan

The last time I checked no corporation forced Coke and Fritos down your gullet. The whole blame the corporation for the inability of adults to make good decisions is old and tired.

No doubt you have never been to an inner city neighborhood. But then why would you?
How far do you expect kids in these neighborhoods to walk for food?

It is all old and tired... It is not nearly as innocuous as you presume... or at least claim to believe.
Finally people are beginning to see through the corporatism. subliminal manipulation and BS.
Finally they can demand higher standards for our most vulnerable population and do something about it.

If straight up unfettered Capitalism is doing such a great job of providing wealth in our country why is a majority of the middle class dropping to the lower classes? Why is the lower class the largest growing segment of America? Why are the lowest classes dropping off the radar so completely so they are virtually wards of the state.Are the majority of Americans just so lazy and stupid so they are dropping in economic level by their bad choices?

Or are they duped?
Duped, swindled and taken advantage of by unscrupulous corporate giants whose motto for everything sold to the poor is "why sell it once when you can cause an addiction, make it break, or make it over and resell it again and again?"

This is how many of the rich get richer.
Corporate corruption and a lack of integrity or ethics.

I have been shopping in both supermarkets...those convenience markets designed for the ignorant and ill informed as well as those lush and bounteous Whole Foods Markets built for the Ivy Leagues. They are the only ones who can afford "natural" fruits and veggies held out for a premium price. The middle class or poor folk in the traditional supermarkets deal with irradiated hybrids and the poorest who shop at convenience stores will get if they are first among shoppers, a handful of those "grade C" musty oranges and green bananas once in a while.

These are 2 different worlds. Worlds apart. Whose fault is it?
I don't care. It needs to be equitable and it needs to be fixed.

You don't have to fix it.
Just don't stop those who recognize the inequity, the problem, the long term health costs and choose to actually step in to correct the injustices and defend the most defenseless. Our children.

Originally posted by SankeySugar
"Why is it OK for kids to get free lunches at school? Why is it the place of the school to provide free meals?"

Did I really just #ing read that here ? I mean sorry for the language but what the hell are you thinking? That we hold all these children accountable and let them starve because their parents are #ed up or hey what about down on their #ing luck because of the asshole bankers and republicans screwing everyone over ? Is that what America stands for ? I

Yep, that is what he said. WE need to save all our money for wars. we cant feed kids That's socialistc!
/sarcasm

reply to post by rusethorcain


I actually spend a few hours a week in an inner city where I volunteer at a rescue mission. Yup, there are few places to get grocerys. There were also few places to get them 60 years ago, but folks got them. I see the folks standing around, sitting on stoops, doing nothing when they could easily hop on a bus (for which they get free passes) and go to a grocery store. Hell, they could do it once a day - at least they would be doing something but sitting about smoking at $8/pack. There is also a library a few blocks away. I chat to these dudes - they have never been there other than going in to get out of the cold in the winter. What do they do when they're in there? Read sports illustrated

We have a blame the man society now where folks blame anybody and everybody for their lot in life. As long as that continues, the problems with respect to the impoverished in the society will never be eliminated, regardless of how much dough we toss into programs designed to assist them.

reply to post by dolphinfan


Bully for you. Give something back. So again, I have to ask you - why is the largest and fastest growing segment of the US, the poor?
Our middle class is shrinking and they are not migrating in an upwardly mobile fashion.
On the contrary...the middle class is shrinking rapidly. They are becoming the poor.

We are doing something terribly wrong. And yes there is plenty of blame to go around and sometimes you can even blame the poor person for not raising above their desperate situation.

But children of the poor? You're reaching.

Originally posted by dolphinfan
reply to post by rusethorcain

 

We have a blame the man society now where folks blame anybody and everybody for their lot in life. As long as that continues, the problems with respect to the impoverished in the society will never be eliminated, regardless of how much dough we toss into programs designed to assist them.

As opposed to the 'blame the government' crowd?

Since when is the public using the instruments of government to protect themselves from shady business practices a bad thing? That is, unless you are one of those companies that prefers to not have any pesky inspectors into their faciltiy?

reply to post by dolphinfan

Poor? Define poor. 50% of the people in this country pay no taxes. "Poor" people in this country get subsidized housing, free medical care, subsidized phone, utility, cable TV service and food stipends. The value of those items, which are paid by the tax payers are not counted in their overall income figures. "poor" people in this country get a free education, essentially free mass transportation, free work counseling/training. Most poor people in this country have a TV and a car.

What the "poor" people in this country need is a job and the way to create a job for them is to get the government off the back of the people who actually might hire the poor person.

Which section of the Constitution authorizes this expenditure?

Hint: none.

The bill should have been voted down.

reply to post by skindoc

I don't have a permanent solution to this problem,

Wouldn't the food stamp (we call them vouchers here) be able to have the persons name and SSN stamped on it and they have to show ID to allow the purchase to go through? I'm sure this would do away with that kind of fraud.

Also for those getting food stamps, it could also be possible for those whose children are being fed at school to have X amount taken out of their food stamps value to cover it maybe? Or even a seperate voucher issued for the lunches only redeemable at the school, with this amount being deducted from the overall food stamp value per family.

I'm sure they are many logical solutions that are easy to fix the problems.

Originally posted by BigTimeCheater
Which section of the Constitution authorizes this expenditure?

It's in the preamble.

You should read more Hamilton and less Jefferson.

Originally posted by buni11687
reply to post by dolphinfan

 

I would support a modification of the food stamp program, where stuff like smokes and alcohol are not allowed to be purchased with food stamps.

...Um, as someone who receives food stamps, I hate to tell you---you most certainly CANNOT buy smokes or alcohol with foodstamps. Or toilet paper. Or shampoo, soap, etc. You can buy FOOD. And that's all. There are even certain types of food you can't buy. So no need for modification to keep us low-life bottom-feeders (I work full-time AND go to school) from wasting our foodstamps on inedible luxuries.