Argus attacks SD Retailers Association, claiming the association “lies in email”

Pat Powers

Wow! This sure sounds like a battle is brewing, and someone is throwing down. From the Argus Leader:

The South Dakota Retailers Association is spreading false information to members in an effort to keep federal food stamp data hidden from the public.

and..

Jon Arneson, a lawyer who represented the Argus Leader in the lawsuit, said the Retailers Association was “conspicuously disseminating misinformation” to arouse its membership.

Arneson said the Retailers Association’s contention that a confidentiality provision is necessary to prevent the public from knowing “exactly what your customers are purchasing with their SNAP benefits” is untrue.

Read it here.

I actually don’t think I’ve seen the state’s largest newspaper claim that the state’s largest trade association is lying before. In a related note, retailers of South Dakota, advertising space is available at dakotawarcollege.com. 

13 thoughts on “Argus attacks SD Retailers Association, claiming the association “lies in email””

  1. Is Shaun Lyons still there? What is the update on his health?

    It’s odd that the argus wants the info anyway. They are a liberal paper.

  2. That’s the problem: if I have to pay your medical bills I should have some say over your diet. That’s how socialized medicine works: you will be force-fed broccoli.

    There is also the problem of children showing up at school hungry because Mom ran out of food stamps. She shouldn’t run out, there should be enough. If she’s running out, she’s spending them inappropriately.

  3. If I have to pay for your SNAP benefits, and I do, I should have a say in how those benefits are used. Only good, healthy, nutritious foods….no chips, pop, candy, etc.

  4. SNAP has become more corporate welfare more than anything. There is a reason why places like Papa Murphy’s throws money towards lobbiest who push for food stamps. EBT should be gone. WIC should be promoted. Just don’t expect big chain restaurants to be on board because much of their income comes directly from the taxpayers.

  5. I am nasty because I think govt programs should use common sense and demand personal responsibility?!

  6. Where did you get that $1 figure? Food stamps are over $70 billion a year. . And only about half of us pay federal income taxes.

  7. This is ridiculous. Special interest trying to protect their own. We should absolutely know on a macro level where those dollars are being spent and for what type of items.

  8. The feds are always casual in pursuing fraud and abuse, and the $80 billion SNAP program is the poster child for how to rip off taxpayers and pay off favored constituencies. The rule of thumb is, the more opaque the information, the more waste and loss. So everyone in the program — recipients and stores alike — prefer letting this sleeping dog lie.

    1. What story? The one about a South Dakota Drama Queen professional victim that is the news again or update on SD retailers? 🙂

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