Food Stamps etc.
So it’s been five weeks since school started. One midterm and one policy memo later, it feels like I’m really getting into the swing of things.
When I compare my experience as an undergrad at UT at the same point, I think I can point to many more things and say, “I didn’t know this before.” It took a few years of being an undergrad before I could say that. Maybe that’s because liberal arts and music are much more squishy subjects and you spend most of your time learning how to learn, but it definitely makes me feel a little better about going into debt up to my eyeballs for this particular degree. The ultimate emphasis is on getting a job, which I appreciate.
Here’s an example to give you a better idea of the kind of thing we learn about: do food stamps work? Should the government allow trading of food stamps? Would it be better to give cash, instead? The general economic argument we discussed today was that people tend to buy more food than they need to because food stamps can’t be traded. Recipients would be just as happy receiving a cash sum of less value, and taxpayers would be spending less money. Win-win.
My response: why even bother calling the program “food stamps”? Why not just give them a tax break? The point of the program is to encourage good nutrition.
Recipients are receiving a benefit. It seems only logical that there should be some strings attached to that benefit.
Hmm… I think this is one of those things need to learn more about. How exactly are food stamps supposed to encourage good nutrition?
Also, what exactly is this “learning how to learn” thing? Isn’t that a bit paradoxical? I remember being told in high school that that’s what I was doing, and I needed to go to college to learn actual, facts, skills, etc. Then in college they told me that that’s what grad school/professional school is for. : P
By the way, congratulations on kicking but in school so far. : )
I know someone who is – was ? – on food stamps – and the 80 bucks the government deemed enough could not possibly cover healthy food for a month for mom and baby. Once, standing in line at HEB, a woman in front of me paid with food stamps – didn’t have enough – had two babies – and I was ready to shell out the money for the milk and crackers, but she found another dollar in her purse and could pay. Maybe free healthy food classes – with free baby care – could be part of such a program? If the government just gave money, they could buy other stuff that is NOT food – and the goal of the program is to feed the hungry, or not?