# School free lunches for all! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 5, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891 "2014-08-05T20:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/161 "2014-08-16T20:15:22Z")
So why the hell do you think the school is doing this? What is the conspiracy if jts not to get kids who are ashamed to eat their lunch to eat? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/162 "2014-08-16T21:37:13Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Well you can try to buy them tickets to some hell hole but I’m pretty sure they’ll opt to buy their own and move to a better place. Where are they going to go? Help me out here, because if high taxes and coddling the poor is driving them away, a “better place” sure isn’t going to be Canada or any country in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/163 "2014-08-16T22:55:53Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > What is this ‘cost to the next generation?’ nonsense, anyway? Good nutrition hasn’t done that much for the current educational system. > Poor nutrition is not something to be solved by the school system, anyway. > > I am all for free school lunches, but, your argument is a bit whackey. I wasn’t the one who brought up the argument about the “next generation” in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/164 "2014-08-17T08:34:58Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Where are they going to go? Help me out here, because if high taxes and coddling the poor is driving them away, a “better place” sure isn’t going to be Canada or any country in Europe. If only there were a way to look up the tax rates of different countries. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/165 "2014-08-17T08:37:40Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > So why the hell do you think the school is doing this? What is the conspiracy if jts not to get kids who are ashamed to eat their lunch to eat? What’s next? The unemployed get a free car because they’re too embarrassed to take the bus? It’s a bullshit need that hurts kids down the road. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/166 "2014-08-17T10:12:35Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > What’s next? The unemployed get a free car because they’re too embarrassed to take the bus? > > It’s a bullshit need that hurts kids down the road. Please tell me why the school is doing this? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/167 "2014-08-17T20:03:03Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Please tell me why the school is doing this? socialists be crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/168 "2014-08-17T23:11:57Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > socialists be crazy. Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/169 "2014-08-18T00:41:57Z")
Ok. So one theory is that people who live and work in the community every day are trying out an innovative solution to a problem they’ve observed, and the other theory is that they are mentally unsound commies. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/170 "2014-08-18T01:26:41Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Ok. So one theory is that people who live and work in the community every day are trying out an innovative solution to a problem they’ve observed, and the other theory is that they are mentally unsound commies. Commies? heavens no. People work in communities every day and vote in all manner of stupid in the name of innovative solutions to problems that don’t exist. This is why we’re so heavily in debt. Unless you’re prepared to demonstrate there are children starving out of embarrassment you’re flinging nonsense. If such an earth shattering crisis existed it was “solved” years ago buy replacing welfare food coupons with pay cards indistinguishable from other pay cards. But I’m curious. How is the school going to enforce this free lunch? Will packed lunches be force-ably removed from students along with disciplinary action? If these students refuse to eat the lunch because they’re embarrassed by being forced to endure charity what is going to be your cure for this innovative solution? I’m also curious what you think will happen if debt continues to increase until we become Greece and there isn’t money for real problems. ---
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/171 "2014-08-18T03:31:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Commies? heavens no. > > People work in communities every day and vote in all manner of stupid in the name of innovative solutions to problems that don’t exist. This is why we’re so heavily in debt. Unless you’re prepared to demonstrate there are children starving out of embarrassment you’re flinging nonsense. If such an earth shattering crisis existed it was “solved” years ago buy replacing welfare food coupons with pay cards indistinguishable from other pay cards. > > But I’m curious. How is the school going to enforce this free lunch? Will packed lunches be force-ably removed from students along with disciplinary action? If these students refuse to eat the lunch because they’re embarrassed by being forced to endure charity what is going to be your cure for this innovative solution? > > I’m also curious what you think will happen if debt continues to increase until we become Greece and there isn’t money for real problems. That bit about Greece is a canard. Greece was ruled by a brutal right-wing military regime, supported by the United States, for decades. That dictatorship’s corrupt, venal upper crust is still very strong in Greek society, with all that that entails. Greece is not in trouble because of too much socialism, if that were the case then Germany some other European countries would not be in the far more advantageous position that they are in. The US could (and must!) instead jettison the Empire and then wonder what to do with all the money saved. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891/172 "2014-08-18T07:33:49Z")
Yeah, if we are discussing aces to save government money, I have more than a few suggestions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-free-lunches-for-all/694891.md?page=8)