# NEW Stupid Republican Idea of the Day (Part 4) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 22, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678 "2025-02-22T21:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 147
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2921 "2026-01-20T20:05:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One of these things is not like the other. New York Times Pitchbot is a parody account. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2922 "2026-01-20T20:36:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That’s just for food, not other living expenses. And if you’re cooking for yourself, that’s quite reasonable. Heck, even at a fast food place, you can get a decent meal for $5. It used to be, but inflation is very quickly changing things. Just a year ago, what I could get in a “$5 Biggie Bag” at Wendy’s (which was their most affordable decent full meal) is now $6. That doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but it went up 20% in just a year. There now is no such thing as a “$5 Biggie Bag”. There is a $4 one, which just has one sandwich and one small 4-piece chicken nugget (no drink or fries) that they call a “Biggie Bite”, a handful of $6 bags, and one “$8 Biggie Bundle” which is pretty big (two sandwiches, a side item, a drink). And that is one of the better deals for your money you’re going to find at a fast food place. A normal combo (sandwich, side, and drink) is between $10-12 everywhere (including Wendy’s for their items that aren’t “Biggie” deals). Granted, those $6 “Biggie Bags” are pretty good, where you get a sandwich, fries, small order of nuggets, and a drink. That should be enough to fill up even hungry adult without having to add anything extra. But they are the exception. The “Extra Value Meals” at McDonald’s, the very cheapest items they sell as a combo, are $8. A quarter pounder, just a single regular-sized burger, no sides, no drink, no extras, is almost $6 on its own. (And note that $6 is the menu price before sales tax; you’re actually paying more than that out of your pocket.) If you are extremely frugal you can put together $5 meals, sure. That’s what we tend to do. The vast majority of what we get come from grocery stores, we use membership discounts and coupons, we are careful and save money and cook our own food. And we can easily eat for $5 a meal per person for something healthy and filling. Not everyone has that luxury. Some people have hectic jobs that don’t afford them a lot of time to go shopping on their own and take time for meal preparation and planning. Some people live in “food deserts” where they don’t have ready access to grocery stores. For them, $5 a meal is absolutely not reasonable and doesn’t reflect reality. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2923 "2026-01-20T21:07:33Z")
Hm, last I saw, there were still a couple of $5 Biggie Bag options at Wendy’s, and you can assemble a decent meal for about that from the Taco Bell value menu, too. Maybe it varies by location, or maybe I’m just out of date. Either way, it’s not too hard for grocery-store food, and breakfast should be cheaper than the other two meals. Food deserts are in fact a problem, but that’s not one that will be solved by making grocery-store food cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2924 "2026-01-20T21:15:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Brooke Rollins thinks $15.64 per day is enough to live off of So, let’s imagine a world where $15.64 is what a family pays for 3 square meals and a snack. For the average family of four: $15.64 x 4 = $62.56 per day x 7 days = $437.93 per week x 52 = $22,772 per year, just for groceries. So, a parent working a full time job would need to bring home $11 per hour after tax just to buy food for their family. Assuming, of course, perfect adherence to our government economists rosy estimate of what food costs, if your clever and frugal, and leaving exactly $0 for any non-food expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2925 "2026-01-20T21:22:13Z")
Yes, but that’s where the rent money you’re earning from your 10 to 12 homes comes in. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2926 "2026-01-20T21:22:24Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > So, a parent working a full time job would need to bring home $11 per hour after tax just to buy food for their family. Assuming, of course, perfect adherence to our government economists rosy estimate of what food costs, if your clever and frugal, and leaving exactly $0 for any non-food expenses. And of course, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. In my state, the minimum wage is $17.13 an hour, but that’s pretty high. A number of states just use that federal minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2927 "2026-01-20T22:08:00Z")
JD Vance regrets to inform you that he has fucked his wife, who he is totally not cheating on with Charlie Kirk’s widow. > **[Second lady Usha Vance announces she is pregnant with fourth child](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/second-lady-usha-vance-announces-pregnant-fourth-child-jd-vance/)** > > Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance announced they are expecting their fourth child. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2928 "2026-01-20T22:19:09Z")
I wouldn’t trust him without a dna test. Probably the SS agents’ baby. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2929 "2026-01-20T22:32:02Z")
No, SS were supposed to procreate only with certified Aryans. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2930 "2026-01-20T22:34:17Z")
She is from India so, yes, she’s Aryan. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2931 "2026-01-20T22:35:09Z")
Not _real_ Aryans, the Nazi fantasy of an Aryan. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2026, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2932 "2026-01-20T22:42:58Z")
Should’a put quotes around “Aryan.” _Mea culpa_. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2933 "2026-01-21T00:04:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > She is from India so, yes, she’s Aryan. I looked it up, and it turns out she’s of Dravidian ancestry, so no - wrong part of India. Sorry to nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2934 "2026-01-21T00:24:26Z")
The right for the last 60 years: We need unrestricted access to guns and the right to carry them anywhere we want so we can defend ourselves when the tyrannical government starts going door-to-door to round us up Minneapolitans defending their neighbors from ICE: ok The right: No not like that [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:dptg7bv76vqyxoqb755cuahv/bafkreibp3rvjpn7zbbnxgw2rc2j3zn5yrb53yiblnfgjpxuorehch7p7ru@jpeg) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:dptg7bv76vqyxoqb755cuahv/bafkreibp3rvjpn7zbbnxgw2rc2j3zn5yrb53yiblnfgjpxuorehch7p7ru@jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2935 "2026-01-21T02:06:27Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A number of states just use that federal minimum wage. Guess where most of them are. [![](https://millardwestcatalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2017-federal-state-minimum-wage-.png) ](https://millardwestcatalyst.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/2017-federal-state-minimum-wage-.png) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2936 "2026-01-21T05:03:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Stephen “I went into politics because I don’t have the upper body strength for strangling prostitutes” Miller Holy shit, that was funny – and so accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2937 "2026-01-21T10:35:42Z")
Former Mississippi state senator Chris McDaniel [would like to make it very clear that ICE is not the Gestapo](https://www.facebook.com/senatormcdaniel/posts/lately-some-folks-have-taken-to-calling-ice-the-gestapo-it-sounds-fierce-it-feel/1479143833567756/). > [@](#): > > Lately, some folks have taken to calling ICE “the Gestapo.” It sounds fierce. It feels righteous. But it isn’t true, and it isn’t harmless. > > The Gestapo was a secret police force. No warrants. No courts. No lawyers. And no appeals. People vanished in the night, not because they broke the law, but because the law no longer meant anything. The knock on the door was the sentence. > > ICE isn’t that. Not even close. I’m glad we’ve cleared that up. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2938 "2026-01-21T12:57:42Z")
Two ways to know cold weather is coming to Texas: 1. Check the weather reports: > **[Extreme Cold And Freezing Rain Forecast: Texas Officials Share Key Safety Tips](https://dallasexpress.com/state/extreme-cold-and-freezing-rain-forecast-texas-officials-share-key-safety-tips/)** > > With wintry conditions expected across parts of the state this weekend, Texas DPS is advising residents to prepare for potential dangers. 1. Check Ted Cruz’s travel itinerary: > ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2939 "2026-01-21T13:41:47Z")
Might as well say ‘I’ve been living under a rock for the past 12 months’… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678/2940 "2026-01-21T15:03:54Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Two ways to know cold weather is coming to Texas: Stealing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=146) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-4/1014678.md?page=148)