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Ted Cruz

7 (6.5%)

Rick Santorum

16 (14.8%)

Michelle Bachmann

13 (12%)

Chris Christie

23 (21.3%)

Rand Paul

49 (45.4%)

Total Members Voted: 107

[Pnx]

A large part of it isn't the direct monetary cost, so much as how quick it tends to be to prepare compared to a proper meal.

If your time or energy starved, the temptation to just grab something from a local fast food place, or microwave something gets to be greater.

[FearfulJesuit]

There are whispers in Washington that Boehner might kick the Hastert Rule to get the debt ceiling raised... which might well cost him his position.

[GreatJustice]

Just what kind of food budget are we talking about where eating well is supposedly difficult? Most I've talked to (in Germany) who made the claim spent more on soft drinks, crisps and eating out than I spent on all food&drink.
I used to think price structure in the US was more biased towards junk food, but checking out the websites of a few US stores eating well seems affordable (with more incentives - by the looks of it, the heavily processed stuff is even nastier than over here).

Why soft drinks if the tap water is at all potable?
Why any McDonalds meal at all? For that price, you can have something outright fancy.
Why chips?

Junk food ends up expensive if it isn't filling and encourages overeating... at which time it ceases to be about price.

Most of it is effort, honestly. A lot of people are too lazy to cook themselves a decent meal, even when it's completely affordable/accessible, so they go to McDonalds for cheap and easy food. For all of its faults, America's big benefit at the moment is the fact that nearly everything a person needs to live on is substantially cheaper/comes in more variety (with a few exceptions like education and healthcare, which are big issues that we've gone over elsewhere) than elsewhere, so the cost of living is so much lower that a person not making much in America still probably has a lot more "stuff" than someone making more in, say, Denmark or the UK.

One of the big issues in the US probably comes from farming subsidies, though; because the US heavily subsidizes a few local farming industries (Especially corn) and levies pretty big import taxes on others (especially sugar), what tends to happen is a lot of food products start using things like corn syrup and so on when they otherwise wouldn't to reduce costs, which leads to a variety of unhealthy things finding their way into just about everything.

[Lord Shonus]

Why any McDonalds meal at all? For that price, you can have something outright fancy.

Let's see you get something "Outright Fancy" for $3 (the price of a cheesburger, drink, and fries from the Dollar Menu). Can't do it. At that price range, you're looking at instant noodles ($.10~$.25 per package) or similar. Again, that's if you have access to a grocery store at all.  I actually do have an actual grocery store within walking distance, but the selection is fairly poor (unless you like offal).

[Max White]

I find that people who think healthy food is expensive don't really know enough about cooking, and tend to expect meat in every dinner. For $5 I can make a soy bolognese to feed four people, and it will taste pretty damn good. I think a little investment into health education would go a long way to reducing obesity rates.

[wierd]

Alastar:

In my case as a kid (up to 7yrs.) We lived on dad's income, where mom and dad were physically seprate, and what my older siblings could drag in mowing laws and such.

Say, under 150/wk in the 80s. 4 kids, 1 adult. Dad lived elsewhere, and worked as a beat cop. Mom dropped out of college to raise us, giving up her dreams as a multi-discipline life scientist.

We did go grocery shopping, but it was always an ordeal where we only got nonperishables, or things we couldn't grow ourselves, and scrounged for coupons on everything. Literally, everything.

Mom made our clothes for school each year, using McCalls clothing patterns, and raw cloth bought at a fabric store (now out of business) called "cloth the world".

I distinctly remember wearing shoes until they either could no longer fit on my feet, or fell apart. Whichever happened first.

After the house fire, we moved into a more rural setting, and mom landed a sweet job doing hand painting on carousel animals for Chance Rides inc. After that, things really picked up, but mom and dad still lived seperated. (Strangest thing. They love each other to death, but drive each other nuts. Go figure.)

But before then? There are people who have and/or had it harder. But we were really really poor. 

But hey, I learned all kinds of crazy shit being poor. mom had nearly finished 3 degrees in hard life sciences chasing her dream of being a paleontologist (the school didn't have a degree program for that, so she took 3 concurrent majors in botany, zoology, and and anthropology to get the needed educational backgrounds), and I got a first hand education in animal behavior, sustainable harvesting of wild food stuffs, and other cool things. That alone is something most impoverished kids don't get, often having less educated parents.

And from dad? He's an old korean war vet, where he served as a medical corpsman (prior to becoming said beat cop.)... his own unique contributions to my childhood education... mmm.. border between what you would expect to get at a terrorist training camp, and or a military field hospital.  You know.. how to field dress a gaping wound, sew stiches, ....make improvised ordinance...make survival structures and knives... that sort of thing. (He really DID mean well. Wars like that make people unhinged. It's a fact. It isn't their fault.)

Between the two, I had a very "unique" experience growing up.


Lord shonus:

Wrong!  For 3$, you can get 1 package of corned beef slices (like for sandwiches. Around 60 cents) a small carton of milk (1.20$is, for the cheap stuff), and some bags of frozen veggies, including frozen potatoes.

Using those, you can make a very nice pot of potato soup, with real veggies in it. Enough to feed at least 2 people.

[FearfulJesuit]

Rice and beans, my friends. Two hundred million Brazilians can't be wrong.

(though you will of course want some farofa for flavor...)

[misko27]

Jeez, a crazy person attempts to break into the White House and ends up in a shootout, and we move on to Food in a few pages.

The Crazie has been identified as Miriam Carey, 34-yr old Dental Hygienist. Appears to be history of Mental issues, search of her house has hazmat as a suspicious letter was left on the porch; unidentified white dust was on it. The Woman was not armed with a gun, but instead used the car itself as a weapon, ramming it into a barricade and a car, injuring a Capital policeman and a Secret Service member

Interestingly, Capitol Police are currently working without pay, and a bill in the House will likely be voted on to recognize them as heroes.

Rice and beans, my friends. Two hundred million Brazilians can't be wrong.

(though you will of course want some farofa for flavor...)

You can get sufficient nutrients from nothing but Rice and Beans.

[Lord Shonus]

I find that people who think healthy food is expensive don't really know enough about cooking, and tend to expect meat in every dinner. For $5 I can make a soy bolognese to feed four people, and it will taste pretty damn good. I think a little investment into health education would go a long way to reducing obesity rates.

Try finding soy anything (except soy sauce) in your average small grocery store. Generally, your raw ingredient choices for protein are dehydrated beans (almost impossible to cook appetizingly, unlike fresher beans), somewhat iffy meats, or Mr. Peanut. It doesn't matter what kind of health information you have or how good you are at cooking IF THE MEANS TO GET GOOD INGREDIENTS DO NOT EXIST, which is an extremely common situation.

[Owlbread]

I've always heard NRA guys suggesting that in the event that you took the guns away from crazies, they'd just use a car.

[wierd]

Re: rice and beans

No, you really need the cornbread for balanced protien, otherwise you run the risk of kwashiorkor disease.

Also, unless it is brown or wild rice, the rice is nearly all just pure starch, and very bad for you.

[Max White]

Try finding soy anything (except soy sauce) in your average small grocery store. Generally, your raw ingredient choices for protein are dehydrated beans (almost impossible to cook appetizingly, unlike fresher beans), somewhat iffy meats, or Mr. Peanut. It doesn't matter what kind of health information you have or how good you are at cooking IF THE MEANS TO GET GOOD INGREDIENTS DO NOT EXIST, which is an extremely common situation.

You can do good things with dehydrated beans, you just need to leave them to soak for a day. Heck if you have any stock you can throw that in and they will end up pretty great.
Also right next to those beans you will find dried split peas. Those things are amazing.

Yea, fresher beans are better, but dried are very workable, especially if you throw in a fresh tomato, brown onion, garlic, some basil. None of those things are especially costly and there is no way in the six circles your grocery store doesn't have them.

[Mrhappyface]

I am saddened none of you suggested fermenting the beans. Granted, it's an acquired taste and you need special yeast for it.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Baffler]

I would add potatoes to that list. They're an excellent base or side for just about everything, and if you just buy potatoes, they're cheaper than the dirt they're grown in, and won't go bad for a long time. They, too, will for certain be at any grocery store. I've had many a hearty meal of potatoes, cornbread from a mix, and and maybe some spam or beans if I was feeling frisky. Usually at dinner. Oatmeal made for a great breakfast food, and I still eat it with some fruit mixed in with some frequency.

[Max White]

I would add potatoes to that list.

And when you get bored of potatoes there are sweet potatoes!
Home made sweet potato chips are possibly the best thing ever...