Just when you think they've hit rock bottom in their hatred of poor people and stupidity comes this gem:
Members of the state affairs committee are approving a bill that limits the amount of junk food that can be purchased with food stamp benefits
"This bill does not allow for Wisconsinites who are utilizing the FoodShare program to purchase sharp cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, shredded cheese or reduced sodium cheeses," said State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, D-Milwaukee. (an opponent of the measure) "And I just want to indicate again how that hurts not just those individuals, those Wisconsinites using the FoodShare program.....but it hurts our dairy farmers."
(
information in italics is my addition)
Note that what we call "fake cheese" around here, like Velveeta and other "processed cheese products", isn't mentioned.
Did they forget that Wisconsin is the nations Dairy State and that cheese is a dairy product? Did they forget that cheese has so much nutritional value it's one of the primary foods on the WIC program that serves pregnant women and children? Did they forget that we love cheese so much that we wear plastic replicas of Swiss Cheese wedges on our heads at sporting events?
No, they didn't forget. They just hate poor people and put this in a bill that seriously limits what people can buy with food stamps. They're sticking it to poor people again and likely catering to those makers of the real junk food "processed cheese product" cheese like Kraft. Yup, these guys haven't met a large corporation they don't love.
People getting food stamps have a hard time avoiding hunger as it is. Limiting their choices certainly doesn't help in a country where they are routinely smeared as "moochers". Food stamps are not welfare, they're used by families and seniors whose income qualifies them. And that's what's really wrong. Nobody who works should ever be poor, or hungry, or homeless.
Of course, outside of Madison, this hasn't gotten any media mention. Our GOP loving media follows the advice their mothers gave them with a twist:
If you don't have anything nice to say about Republicans, just keep your mouth shut.
Yeah, that strategy is working really well (for Republicans).
PS: It was really really hard to find any media reporting on this. Found the article I linked online at a Madison television station. It's not in any of the newspapers here.
.