Lagniappe

We present this collection of political idiocy for your edification.

Report: Milk Could Skyrocket To $8 A Gallon If Farm Bill Not Passed

The fight over renewing the nation’s farm bill has centered on cuts to the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program. But there could be unintended consequences if no agreement is reached: higher milk prices.

Members of the House and Senate are scheduled to begin long-awaited negotiations on the five-year, roughly $500 billion bill this week. If they don’t finish it, dairy supports could expire at the end of the year and send the price of a gallon of milk skyward.

KLTV reports that the price of milk could reach $8 a gallon. [snip]

The cost of SNAP has more than doubled over the last five years as the economy struggled, and Republicans say it should be more focused on the neediest people. Democrats say it is working as it should, providing food to those in need when times are tough. [snip]

All the Congress needs to do is repeal the 1930s and 1940s-era farm law. When the government stops buying dairy products, all sales would have to compete on the commercial market.
The communist idea that the government must subsidize everything and anything drives up prices.

Food Bank CEO Suggests Welfare Cuts May Spark Riots

The CEO of the largest food bank in America has suggested that planned cuts in food stamp benefits set to take effect on Friday could spark riots.

Margarette Purvis, the president and CEO of the Food Bank for New York City, told Salon.com that the expiration of stimulus funds, which will see the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reduced by $5 billion dollars, will have an “immediate impact” and represent a recipe for civil unrest. [snip]

As we previously highlighted, even the mainstream media is invoking the threat of riots that could ensue as a result of the food stamp cut, with Fox News’ Neil Cavuto linking the issue to the Department of Homeland Security’s recent $80 million dollar outlay on armed guards to protect government buildings in upstate New York.

“November 1st could be a very very iffy kind of a day….this could be all hell breaks loose day,” warned Cavuto. [snip]

So what! The greatest loss of sales will be for cigarettes, booze and junk food. The reader knows of the abuse in the program; many stories have been published concerning such corruption. Recently a story about food stamps being sold on Craigslist appeared on Drudge. Work or starve should be the slogan except for very few recipients. Take the jobs away from the illegals.

San Francisco supervisor to introduce soda tax proposal

A can of soda could eventually cost about a quarter more in San Francisco. A proposed measure would add a special tax to sugary beverages, but the proposal is different than a similar ballot measure that failed in Richmond last year.

The idea is simple — the bigger the drink, the more taxes you pay. It would be 2 cents per ounce for all sugar-sweetened beverages. That includes soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and bottled Frappuccinos.

“It’s not a nanny state at all; we’re not banning anything,” San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener said. [snip]

Two cents an ounce adds up pretty quickly. A 32-once drink at a gas station would cost an extra 64 cents.

As to where all that money will go, the estimated $31 million a year will go to nutrition, health and physical fitness programs, a stark contrast to the failed soda tax proposal in Richmond, where the money instead was earmarked for the general fund.

In a statement, Californians for Food And Beverage wrote, “such measures are unnecessary, wasteful distractions from serious policymaking.” [snip]

California, like other liberal states, needs more revenue to squander on worthless ideas, ne’er do wells and to line the politician’s pockets. Most of the tax money collected will go to funding a commission to determine how to spend the money, then hire a raft of bureaucrats to oversee said expenditures. Finally they’ll need more bodies to collect the tax and audit the results.