Click here for a larger version of the map.
The USDA is currently granting states waivers to restrict the use of food stamps for the purchase of soda and candy. The states that have received waivers are Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. All of these ban soda, with most also banning sugary drinks and candy.
More states have submitted requests for waivers to ban soda and candy, including Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Rasmussen polled 1,158 Likely US voters on October 23, 26, and 27th about buying junk food with food stamps.
They did a good job on this poll because they asked the question two ways. One that was very vague and one that was very specific.
The vague question was, “Do you agree or disagree with this statement: ‘It’s nonsensical for U.S. taxpayers to spend tens of billions of dollars subsidizing junk that harms the health of low-income Americans’”?
Agree vs Disagree
Hispanics: 62% vs 27%
Whites: 60% vs 27%
All: 59% vs 28%
Blacks: 55% vs 32%
Other: 43% vs 40%
Whites: 60% vs 27%
All: 59% vs 28%
Blacks: 55% vs 32%
Other: 43% vs 40%
However, when things are spelled out, the results change. “You think people receiving food stamps… Should be allowed to purchase soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages with food stamps, or Should not be allowed to purchase soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages with food stamps?”
Should be allowed vs. Should not be allowed
Blacks: 69% vs. 24%
All: 43% vs 47%
Hispanics: 40% vs. 50%
Whites: 40% vs. 49%
Other: 34% vs. 63%
All: 43% vs 47%
Hispanics: 40% vs. 50%
Whites: 40% vs. 49%
Other: 34% vs. 63%
Of the 1,158 Likely US voters polled, 162 identified themselves as Black. When asked a super vague question about the government subsidizing “junk that harms the health of low-income Americans,” 89 Blacks said the government should not subsidize it, while 51 said yes, and 22 said “not sure.” When it is spelled out as a food stamps for soda and sugary drinks, suddenly 112 Blacks are opposed and only 39 support it. Another 11 say they are unsure.
So Black opposition goes up by a factor of 120% when you actually spell it out that you mean soda with food stamps.
Be the first to comment