PATERNALISM IS AS PATERNALISM DOES.

If you approve of the policy goals, it's Good Paternalism.  "Guess Who’s Big Mad They Can’t Buy Junk Food With Your Tax Money Anymore."  Pajamas Media contributor Tim O'Brien continues, probably approvingly.

Food stamp users in Florida are waking up to some big changes that took place in their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that took effect April 20. The entitlement program’s beneficiaries can no longer use their EBT cards to purchase soda, energy drinks, candy, and “ultra-processed prepared desserts” such as Twinkies, cookies, cupcakes, and other packaged sweets.

They can continue to use their taxpayer-funded, free-food cards for fruit, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy and other staples. They can also use their EBT cards for coffee, tea, bottled water, and sport drinks. On the snack side, they can use their EBT cards for granola bars, freshly prepared baked goods, and packaged “breakfast” foods such as toaster strudels and breakfast biscuits.

The federal government did not implement the restrictions, even though the state of Florida’s SNAP program receives subsidies from the government. Rather, this a state policy which is being implemented under a waiver program from the Trump administration.

It's For Your Own Good (Moocher edition).  It's always For Your Own Good, for arbitrary values of good.  People go into public service to traffic for the good of others boss other people around.  "Wise Experts know better than you, dear reader, what 'disinformation' on social media is, what additives to cigarettes are dangerous, how much beer you should drink, and whether your business ought remain open during flu season or not."  And whether your public assistance can go for potato chips and Pop Tarts.

As a word-substitution exercise, see how many other manifestations of nanny-state constraints on free people you might be able to work into Mr O'Brien's defense of Florida's rules.

Instead of being grateful for having all of the nutrition options listed above, she’s angry that she can’t waste your tax money on unhealthy, non-essential foods with no nutritional value for her and her kids.

The Florida SNAP website said the reason for the change was “to better align the program with its intended purpose: providing low-income households with access to a more nutritious diet to alleviate hunger and combat malnutrition,” adding, “SNAP benefits can continue to be used to purchase the same healthy, nutrient-rich foods they always have, including fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, dairy, and other staples that support a balanced diet and overall well-being.”

Of course, the health and nutritional benefits of this move are lost on SNAP benefit recipients who don’t know the first thing about healthy eating – people whose idea of a well-balanced diet includes the four major food groups: soda, ice cream, cookies, and cupcakes.

I wonder how many adherents of the Welfare Economics Paradigm in the best Ken Galbraith and  Hillary Clinton tradition are reading the following and approving.

People feel entitled to spend your money on foods that contribute to their health problems, collectively creating an epidemic of such health problems as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more. And all of that drives up your health insurance and healthcare costs, because you know they’re not paying for those benefits, either. You are.

My attitude is this. The moment I pay for your SNAP benefits, then I should have a say in how you can spend my tax money. If you want to choose unhealthy foods, then go earn your own money.

Somewhere Milton Friedman, who famously objected to paternalism-disguised-as-controlling-where-taxes-go as implying people come stamped with a "Property of the United States Government" label, is cringing.  But it's always so with paternalism.  "It is the good feeling of Karens [or Tims] who vote, and who like being reassured that policies are being put in place for the good of the benighted."