The Right To Fast Food

Dave Durand - Contributor

While visiting my corner convenience store, I noticed an interesting advertisement plastered on the wall outside. It read “SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) now accepted here”. It got me thinking as to why newly polished Food Stamps are now accepted at a convenience store. My assumption was Food Stamps were only accepted at grocery stores.

Turns out I was wrong. Unbeknownst to me, food stamps are accepted at a wide variety of establishments from state to state. Even as far back as the 1970s, the federal government has given out waivers which allow certain businesses to accept Food Stamps.

A little more background to set the mood…

Since 2005 the cost of the Food Stamp program ballooned from $28 Billion to $64 Billion annually. There are now 39 million people that receive some kind of food purchasing assistance. That is 1 out 7 Americans. Let that sink in for a minute. Literally 1 out of every 7 people you meet is a parasite that feeds off its taxpaying host. How can we survive as a nation when 15% of the population can’t even muster the drive to freaking feed themselves?

This is both sad and maddening, but wait, it actually gets worse. Now several states may be granted waivers that would allow fast food chains to accept Food Stamps. Currently 4 states allow for some kind of prepared meals to be purchased with Food Stamps. So it should be no surprise that YUM Brands is lobbying hard to get a piece of this very big pie. If they succeed, you’ll be seeing “SNAP” advertisements at the local KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver, or Pizza Hut.

Can you imagine that? We are now at the point in this country when going out to dinner is some kind of “right”. Even if you argue that food is a “right” – you absolutely cannot argue that by the way – there is no way in Hell that you can argue for the right to a Supreme Stuffed Crust Pizza or a Beefy 5 Layer Burrito.

The sickening part is that I now realize that I am an absolute chump… a sucker… a pushover…. a doormat.

Here I am living month to month on a self-imposed budget. Here I am paying my bills, and paying down debt. Here I am working hard and not asking for anything from anyone. Here I am consciously deciding to NOT EAT AT RESTAURANTS because I have my damn priorities straight.

All the while there are those who absolutely refuse to grow up. Those who refuse to take the hard road or play the hand they are dealt. Those who refuse to provide for themselves the basic necessities of life. Those who would apparently allow their children to starve to death unless they are given a voucher for a bucket of the Colonel’s original recipe, 6 biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

I’m about ready to quit my life and plug myself back into the Matrix.  

Dave Durand is a weekly contributor to the Letters to the Front blog, an amazing beer snob, and all around good guy to be around when watching a sporting event.

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