The month-long government shutdown is coming to a head this week, with the Trump administration warning that SNAP nutritional benefits will run out this weekend if a government funding bill is not passed. That has prompted several Democrat states to file a lawsuit (even invoking biblical scripture for effect), trying to force the administration to continue the benefits during the shutdown...even though Democrats are the ones perpetuating the shutdown in the first place.
This fight has shed new light on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), more commonly referred to as food stamps. We now know that 42 million people use SNAP benefits, or about 1-in-8 people in America, and that the program cost taxpayers just over $100 billion last year. SNAP is supposed to provide temporary help to those whose income is at or below the federal poverty line, with the length of support based on the size of the family and number of children. For instance, a working-age adult with no children is not supposed to be on the program for longer than three months.
But as with most government programs, SNAP has grown far beyond its original purpose, and is now rife with abuse and mismanagement. "It has come to light that 1.5 million non-citizens received $4.2 billion in food stamp benefits in 2022, and that number has likely increased over the last couple of years," says James Quintero, policy director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF). "It is outrageous that non-citizens are milking American taxpayers for money that was not intended to go to them, and we need strong Congressional action to find out what is going on and put a stop to it."
Beyond the fraud and waste in the program, Quintero believes the raw size and cost of SNAP is indicative of a much larger issue in the country. "We have a cradle-to-grave welfare system that is cultivating an environment of dependency, poverty, and a weak economy," he tells KTRH. "And we need to get people off the government dole and back into productive society, for all of our benefit."
Photo: iStock Editorial