Just in case you thought Democratic pols had a monopoly on stupid ideas, Maine Governor Paul LePage, a Republican, is threatening to stop the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), aka, food stamps entirely in his state. It’s not because the program is ineffective or plagued with abuse and corruption. Rather he wants to kill the entitlement because the law doesn’t give him the power to micromanage what food individuals are buying to eat.
According to Fox News, LePage was warned the Obama administration of his goal is either to prevent recipients from buying products like Mars bars and Mountain Dew or to halt the program entirely.
The warning comes after the Obama administration shot down his request for a waiver to institute the ban on candy and sugary drinks. The firebrand Republican wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack objecting vociferously to the agency’s decision. In the June 17 letter, LePage called the ban “a commonsense proposition.” Citing Maine’s rising obesity and diabetes rates, LePage said he will look “to implement reform unilaterally or cease Maine’s administration of the food stamp program altogether.”
“It’s time for the federal government to wake up and smell the energy drinks,” wrote LePage, who went on to accuse the Obama administration of a double standard in the way it polices school cafeterias, but not how taxpayer money is used on the food stamp program.
This is the progressive control-freak/entitlement mindset turning on itself. It’s what happens when citizens rely on the government to pay their grocery bill. The more control government has, the less choice and freedom you have. Pursuing empowerment over entitlement is the only sure way to prevent government from controlling your life down to your dinner recipe.
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Cross-posted at DeneenBorelli.com
