# I pit WIC **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491 "2007-09-25T23:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/81 "2007-09-26T02:30:02Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] One of my assistant managers here at Walgreens qualifed for WIC. His wife used to come in with their baby and “pick up her WIC” all the time. [/QUOTE] then I guess I’m sorry Walgreens offers such shitty pay. See Federal income guidelines, above. I don’t see why a person needs to be ashamed of receiving WIC. Perhaps a “profligate slut” brand would be more to your liking, but its a service – one users largely contributed to supporting with their own tax dollars. Be glad its out there and you’ve never had to choose between taking something people will ceaselessly judge you for and feeding your child. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/82 "2007-09-26T02:30:10Z")
> [@miss elizabeth](#): > > These people? What people? Babies? You have no idea what you’re talking about. You should be thankful for that, but you aren’t. The W in WIC stands for “Women.” The mothers use WIC buy food for themselves too, before and after pregnancy. Fact is, the mother is responsible for feeding herself and her child, not me. Another fact is that many/most of the women on WIC are unmarried young women, without educations or jobs. I don’t approve of their irresponsible decision to bring another human being onto the planet when they can’t afford it.. and then I am expected to subsidize it? Maybe if it weren’t so easy for them, they might have thought twice before having a kid when they couldn’t afford it. It IS a choice! I would be more than happy to help people who are working hard to try to better their situation, or people to whom unexpected emergencies happened. But frankly, I am skeptical that is the situation for most of them. Now I would be happy for my money to go toward free birth control and sex education, and also tuition assistance programs for young people. Let’s help them help themselves! What’s the saying? “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” ---
**Author:** ![miss\_elizabeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@miss\_elizabeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miss_elizabeth)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/83 "2007-09-26T02:36:01Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] The W in WIC stands for “Women.” The mothers use WIC buy food for themselves too, before and after pregnancy. Fact is, the mother is responsible for feeding herself and her child, not me. Another fact is that many/most of the women on WIC are unmarried young women, without educations or jobs. I don’t approve of their irresponsible decision to bring another human being onto the planet when they can’t afford it.. and then I am expected to subsidize it? Maybe if it weren’t so easy for them, they might have thought twice before having a kid when they couldn’t afford it. It IS a choice! I would be more than happy to help people who are working hard to try to better their situation, or people to whom unexpected emergencies happened. But frankly, I am skeptical that is the situation for most of them. Now I would be happy for my money to go toward free birth control and sex education, and also tuition assistance programs for young people. Let’s help them help themselves! What’s the saying? “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” [/QUOTE] You have no idea what you’re talking about. You should be thankful for that, but you aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/84 "2007-09-26T02:37:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I think if you are using public assistance, it’s the most ethical thing to do to get the most mileage out of it for what it’s meant to be used for. As I mentioned a post or two ago (I think in response to **miss elizabeth** ), should that extra $2 go towards convenience, or should it go to more nutritious food for the kids? [/QUOTE] My own view would be that it should go towards whatever is in the best interests of the family as a whole, and the children in particular. If they would benefit more from their mother’s time than from extra money, that is how it should be used. The decision as to what is best should be made by the family themselves, not by passing observers who lack any real insight into the life of that family. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/85 "2007-09-26T02:38:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I think if you are using public assistance, it’s the most ethical thing to do to get the most mileage out of it for what it’s meant to be used for. As I mentioned a post or two ago (I think in response to **miss elizabeth** ), should that extra $2 go towards convenience, or should it go to more nutritious food for the kids? [/QUOTE] Maybe they look at it as mental health. I see nothing unethical about it as long as it’s being used for items that fall within the WIC guidelines. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/86 "2007-09-26T02:38:46Z")
You assume the people buying the formula have a place that is clean to live in with a clean water supply always available. They always have a place to clean up and prepare the formula. Stop worrying that your missing out on their lovely arrangement, because when you are getting WIC you are not doing well. Premixed food can be the only practical safe way to feed that baby. The program is there to insure that even in adverse situations the baby gets a safe nutritious food supply. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/87 "2007-09-26T02:40:41Z")
[QUOTE=PaulParkhead] My own view would be that it should go towards whatever is in the best interests of the family as a whole, and the children in particular. If they would benefit more from their mother’s time than from extra money, that is how it should be used. [/QUOTE] OK, let me just run this past you, then. Do you think there are people who are JUST as busy as these folks, whose kids could benefit JUST as much for the few minutes of extra time she has not mixing formula, who also work two jobs and are incredibly busy, and who don’t qualify for WIC? What about these folks? Maybe EVERYONE should get WIC, so that we don’t discriminate against these kinds people. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/88 "2007-09-26T02:41:48Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] You assume the people buying the formula have a place that is clean to live in with a clean water supply always available. They always have a place to clean up and prepare the formula. Stop worrying that your missing out on their lovely arrangement, because when you are getting WIC you are not doing well. Premixed food can be the only practical safe way to feed that baby. The program is there to insure that even in adverse situations the baby gets a safe nutritious food supply. [/QUOTE] You haven’t been paying attention to what I’ve been saying. I’m talking about people at MY daycare, where the water is bottled and plentiful, and where my own children have their formula mixed. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/89 "2007-09-26T02:42:05Z")
[QUOTE=miss elizabeth] You have no idea what you’re talking about. You should be thankful for that, but you aren’t. [/QUOTE] Which statement is false? Please, if I am factually wrong about something please let me know. Are you disagreeing with my statement that “the mother is responsible for feeding herself and her child, not me?” Are you saying that I _am_ responsible for paying to feed other people’s kids? Are you disagreeing with my statement that having or not having kids is a choice? Do you disagree that we should help people help themselves (i.e. education, job training & assistance, free birth control, sex education)? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/90 "2007-09-26T02:42:57Z")
[QUOTE=Southern Yankee] It’s simply about the ability to get the more _convenient_ of two nutritionally-exact products when **Sarahfeena** chooses not to, in order to spend the savings elsewhere. [/QUOTE] The RTF formula isn’t just more convenient, it’s _more expensive._ ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/91 "2007-09-26T02:43:37Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] The W in WIC stands for “Women.” The mothers use WIC buy food for themselves too, before and after pregnancy. Fact is, the mother is responsible for feeding herself and her child, not me. Another fact is that many/most of the women on WIC are unmarried young women, without educations or jobs. I don’t approve of their irresponsible decision to bring another human being onto the planet when they can’t afford it.. and then I am expected to subsidize it? Maybe if it weren’t so easy for them, they might have thought twice before having a kid when they couldn’t afford it. It IS a choice! I would be more than happy to help people who are working hard to try to better their situation, or people to whom unexpected emergencies happened. But frankly, I am skeptical that is the situation for most of them. Now I would be happy for my money to go toward free birth control and sex education, and also tuition assistance programs for young people. Let’s help them help themselves! What’s the saying? “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” [/QUOTE] Fact is, as long as you are a taxpayer in the US, it _is_ your responsibility to subsidize the WIC program. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/92 "2007-09-26T02:46:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I think if you are using public assistance, it’s the most ethical thing to do to get the most mileage out of it for what it’s meant to be used for. As I mentioned a post or two ago (I think in response to **miss elizabeth** ), should that extra $2 go towards convenience, or should it go to more nutritious food for the kids? [/QUOTE] Let’s say that $2 goes to buying Juicy Juice, with its high-sugar content. Or it goes to buying carrots that the kid won’t eat. Or someone decides to buy Post Frosted Shredded Mini Wheats instead of the cheaper Tasteeos. I guess my point is, if the allotment is the same per child/income, then why should it matter what someone buys? It’s not like a person who gets pre-packaged formula is taking any more money from the tax payer than the frugal person. From [this](http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/wic/nutrition_approvedfoods.htm) link, we learn that WIC also covers frozen concentrate drinks, which tend to be a lot cheaper than ready-to-drinks. It also covers dry oatmeal and cream of wheat, which are a lot cheaper than cold cereals. If we take RTF off the table, you willing to go the next step and make everything “no frills”? Imagine the savings! Shoot, why not just give a WIC family a big bag of grain like we give to Third World people! I’m being hyperbolic with this slippery slope (apologies), but my question is sincere: What would be a WIC-approved “convenience” food, in your ideal world? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/93 "2007-09-26T02:46:31Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] You assume the people buying the formula have a place that is clean to live in with a clean water supply always available. They always have a place to clean up and prepare the formula. Stop worrying that your missing out on their lovely arrangement, because when you are getting WIC you are not doing well. Premixed food can be the only practical safe way to feed that baby. The program is there to insure that even in adverse situations the baby gets a safe nutritious food supply. [/QUOTE] I also think that if the government thought this was an outrageous choice for people to make, they’d choose the items for the recipients in ALL cases (like one of the previous posters said) and wouldn’t allow any individual choice. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/94 "2007-09-26T02:46:52Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] How do you know the situation didn’t change after the child came along? Why are you feeding the stereotype of ignorant poor people who don’t know when to quit fucking? [/QUOTE] What stereotype? Drop me in any country in the world and I bet I can show you plenty of ignorant poor people who don’t know when to quit fucking within 30 minutes. Are you saying that the problem of having too many kids in the face of very scarce resources is a myth? For the record, I believe that society as a whole has an interest in keeping babies healthy, and not just from a moral standpoint. That being said, some ignorant poor people the world over don’t know when to quit fucking. ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/95 "2007-09-26T02:49:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I also think that if the government thought this was an outrageous choice for people to make, they’d choose the items for the recipients in ALL cases (like one of the previous posters said) and wouldn’t allow any individual choice. [/QUOTE] Or they simply decided that the expense of choosing items for pick up outweighed the benefit. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/96 "2007-09-26T02:50:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] OK, let me just run this past you, then. Do you think there are people who are JUST as busy as these folks, whose kids could benefit JUST as much for the few minutes of extra time she has not mixing formula, who also work two jobs and are incredibly busy, and who don’t qualify for WIC? What about these folks? Maybe EVERYONE should get WIC, so that we don’t discriminate against these kinds people. [/QUOTE] Now you’re just being silly. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/97 "2007-09-26T02:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=T\_SQUARE] What stereotype? Drop me in any country in the world and I bet I can show you plenty of ignorant poor people who don’t know when to quit fucking within 30 minutes. Are you saying that the problem of having too many kids in the face of very scarce resources is a myth? For the record, I believe that society as a whole has an interest in keeping babies healthy, and not just from a moral standpoint. That being said, some ignorant poor people the world over don’t know when to quit fucking. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but that’s a birth control issue; not a WIC issue. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/98 "2007-09-26T02:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=T\_SQUARE] Or they simply decided that the expense of choosing items for pick up outweighed the benefit. [/QUOTE] Either way, they’re not in the business of micromanaging people at the grocery store. You can buy a month’s supply of Cheetohs with your food stamps, too. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/99 "2007-09-26T02:55:29Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] OK, let me just run this past you, then. Do you think there are people who are JUST as busy as these folks, whose kids could benefit JUST as much for the few minutes of extra time she has not mixing formula, who also work two jobs and are incredibly busy, and who don’t qualify for WIC? What about these folks? Maybe EVERYONE should get WIC, so that we don’t discriminate against these kinds people. [/QUOTE] Your suggestion that everyone should get WIC is a good one. A similar system is in place in the UK (or was, when I last lived there) - all mothers, regardless of household income, are entitled to a modest cash payment per child. Since all are entitled to it, no-one can feel that they now have some stake in the way others spend it because “it’s my money that’s feeding their kids”. As to the first point in your post, my answer is yes, of course. And all families are free to prioritise the resources they have available to them in the way that works best for them. It’s their decision, though, not mine. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491/100 "2007-09-26T03:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=PaulParkhead] Your suggestion that everyone should get WIC is a good one. A similar system is in place in the UK (or was, when I last lived there) - all mothers, regardless of household income, are entitled to a modest cash payment per child. Since all are entitled to it, no-one can feel that they now have some stake in the way others spend it because “it’s my money that’s feeding their kids”. As to the first point in your post, my answer is yes, of course. And all families are free to prioritise the resources they have available to them in the way that works best for them. It’s their decision, though, not mine. [/QUOTE] But _in this country_ where some qualify and some don’t, do you agree that just because the qualifier gets to use her stipend for convenience, the non-qualifier, whose day is taken up “bringing home the bacon, frying it up in a pan, and never, ever lettin’ him forget he’s a man,” should automatically qualify because she needs some convenience in her life too? I wouldn’t mind an all-round program too, but the way it now, the qualifier gets to use her stipend the way she sees fit, within the parameters allowed by the program. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-wic/420491.md?page=6)