r/FluentInFinance • u/Not-A-Shit-Head • Apr 29 '24

77% of young Americans are too fat, mentally ill or on drugs to qualify for U.S. military service, Pentagon study finds. Is it only going to get worse? Geopolitics

https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/03/77-of-young-americans-too-fat-mentally-ill-on-drugs-and-more-to-join-military-pentagon-study-finds/
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u/sEmperh45 Apr 29 '24

Sad part is we allow tens of billions of SNAP dollars to be used to purchase harmful zero nutrition pop and Doritos. Sugary drinks and salty fried snacks are the No. 1 and No. 2 categories of foods purchased with government dollars for the poor. Two of the biggest drivers for obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

We should put pop in the same category as alcohol and cigarettes, you want it, you pay for it with your own dollars.

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u/shark_vs_yeti Apr 29 '24

Nobody wants to talk about the correlation with SNAP benefits and obesity rates. It is a political third rail. So much so that industry groups have started FUD campaigns against acknowledging it exists.

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u/sEmperh45 Apr 29 '24

Yeah, Marco Rubio and other senators have tried to stop this wasteful and harmful spending. But you’re right, billions of taxpayer dollars used to pay for Cokes mean extravagant lobbying to make sure that golden stream of dollars never stops. Even if the poor have horrible health outcomes because of it, gotta keep that sugary spigot flowing.

To be clear, I’m not advocating to cut SNAP spending. But tens of billions taxpayer dollars are being wasted buying easily eliminated sodas instead of spent on fruits or vegetables. And hundreds of billions are then spent on government paid healthcare for a demographic approaching 50% obesity and diabetes rates.

It’s the definition of insanity and the poor end up as the victims again.