06-30-2012, 03:55 AM
DaVinci, your first comment sets up a straw man argument then attempts to knock it down. The two comments made by robguz are different and not contradictory. If snake oil product X has not been rigorously scientifically tested, it may be useful. No one can know yet. However, if snake oil product Y has been tested and failed to prove its efficacy, then it is indeed just snake oil.
As for the EBT disdain, is your argument that people should be able to purchase anything they want on EBT? Then, what about alcohol? After all, EBT users aren't children. EBT is meant as a program to feed people to keep them from going hungry. Wasting government money on tap water is no different from wasting it on alcohol. As a society, we already decide what qualifies for EBT spending and what does not. It seems that plain tap water (that we already subsidize) which has been run through a witch-doctor machine and marked up exorbitantly should not qualify for EBT. (I also don't think bottled water should be available on EBT, but I digress.) And to be clear, I have no problem with people receiving EBT benefits when they need it.
As for the EBT disdain, is your argument that people should be able to purchase anything they want on EBT? Then, what about alcohol? After all, EBT users aren't children. EBT is meant as a program to feed people to keep them from going hungry. Wasting government money on tap water is no different from wasting it on alcohol. As a society, we already decide what qualifies for EBT spending and what does not. It seems that plain tap water (that we already subsidize) which has been run through a witch-doctor machine and marked up exorbitantly should not qualify for EBT. (I also don't think bottled water should be available on EBT, but I digress.) And to be clear, I have no problem with people receiving EBT benefits when they need it.