Last week Trump released his proposed budget cuts, and man, did they piss people off. The particular cut that bothered people the most was Trump’s massive $193 billion dollar cut to SNAP, more commonly known as Food Stamps. Over 40 million people rely on Food Stamps to help feed themselves and their family. In 2016 SNAP benefits cost roughly $70.9 billion and supplied around 44.2 million Americans, with an average of $125.51 per person per month.
SNAP is obviously a very important program, as we can all agree we wouldn’t want to see anyone going hungry. I don’t think anyone really has an issue with paying into this program a little bit because we live in a humane world, and no humane person would want to see someone starve, or see a child go hungry. However, I also live in a country where our tax dollars are being misused and our politicians are committing fraud right before our eyes.
While SNAP is a federal program, it is distributed by each state and each state has its own requirements for obtaining the benefits. Like I said, fraud is a serious problem, but so is government dependency. Programs like SNAP create a system where people are increasingly becoming more dependent on government programs to help keep them afloat. While the government is meant to promote the general welfare, they are by no means meant to provide it. Yes, there are requirements that the beneficiary must be employed. But this is typically evaded at the state level.
SNAP was meant to be a temporary solution to the "famine" caused by the Great Depression, not a life-sustaining program. More so, if SNAP is meant to decrease rates of hunger and poverty then someone riddle me this:
Why have poverty levels and people without adequate food supply remained fairly constant while the numbers of people who are dependent on SNAP have only grown?
SNAP is meant to help struggling families, to help them get back on their feet and then off governmental assistance, however according to the Cato Institute, 55 percent of people stay on the program for longer than five years. I get it, you lose your job and you need a year to find a steady source of income, but FIVE years? Absolutely not, and if so then there is an underlying issue. This program is becoming a permanent source of income for many, and that is wrong.
The program has increasingly become abused, and those who take advantage of it should be ashamed. There have been plenty of weeks where my dad told my mom to cut back on food shopping because it was a really “tight week” and I’ve always sympathized with people who have tight weeks consecutively. The money that is coming out of my dad's paycheck each week for programs like SNAP could’ve prevented my dad, who works so hard, from having to tell his family that is was a tight week. Millions of taxpayers who are just making enough to get by are being raped by taxes to support millions of people, half who have been using this program far too long.
And I’m sure someone will say that I’m being bitter, but I’m not. Rather, when I see the people in front of me using food stamps whip out their new iPhone while wearing brand new Nike sneakers, you’re damn right I am going to be mad. If you supposedly can't afford food then you have NO business buying new sneakers that cost a ton of money or a new iPhone which costs upwards of $600. I’m not telling you what to do with your money, but you shouldn’t be demanding that my dad and I pay into this program so that you can have your necessities and luxuries paid for.
SNAP is an important program, no doubt. It helps people get off hard times; I’ve seen it happen. It's important for those who are disabled or who take care of someone who is disabled, and I truly have no problem helping those people out forever. However, it also creates a system of government dependency for those who use it as a source of income.
Am I saying I think Trump's huge cut to the program is 100 percent just? Absolutely not, only because I don’t know all the intricate details, but was his cut a step in the right direction? Absolutely.
Not to mention, can you knock the guy for trying to balance a budget that has been so destroyed over these last few years?
