“Apparently, we’re paying for hipster foodies to eat better than us.” -Jeff Miller, after quoting this wretched reason article.
Most people generally approve of the food stamps program. It’s not terribly expensive. It contributes to local economies. It decreases malnutrition and related costs. And it allows its impoverished beneficiaries a measure of dignity and choice.
Unfortunately, some people don’t consider that last one a benefit. A lot of people seem to get very nervous when the poor have dignity. It almost makes them start sounding human.
The food stamp recipient in question received benefits of $200 per month. Have you tried eating on $200 a month? It’s possible—but you have to be pretty smart about it. It comes down to about $1.00 per breakfast, $2.50 for lunch, and $4.00 for dinner. And if produce goes bad or milk goes sour, you’re either over budget our underfed.
If the hipster in question had spent that $200 on a pre-packaged breakfast burrito, a plastic tray lunch of limp lasagna and a Coke, and a frozen pizza, nobody would raise eyebrows. Instead, he decided that he had some time to cook, perhaps some decent budget choices, and, yes, ate quite well. If you’re willing to do most of your cooking yourself you can eat much better at a much lower price.
So where is the problem? Is it that our hipster bought food at Whole Foods? Probably not. If you’re careful about what you buy, Whole Foods isn’t much more expensive than another chain. If you get your produce at a farmers market, you can get more and better produce less expensively. Is it that he spent what little money he had to supplement his food budget instead of wasting it on the lottery or cigarettes or some other stereotypical mark of poverty? Is it that he knows how to cook? Is it that some of the vegan hipsters choose different food than we do? Do we think choice should be limited to the affluent?
Or is it simply that we want to make sure our poor people maintain a consistent misery so we never have to envy anything about their lives?
(via squashed)
In the words of the sempiternal Heather Chandler, KU-DOS to this rebuttal.
Heaven forbid this person also have celiac disease, and not able to buy cheap mass-produced ramen noodles for dinner every night. Getting food stamps: not a reason to undercut your nutrition.
Also: the word “hipster” should be retired. It refers to people who dress alike and like the same music, not people who are wealthy and faking it, as the above rebutted article suggests.
