Opinion

The government needs to slash SNAP welfare spending

November 17, 2023

Star Parker (Opinion Contributor)

The amount of resources going towards food stamps is an abuse of taxpayer money, and the program is overdue for an overhaul. — Image credit: Reuters

All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.

Millions of people in the U.S. receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps. SNAP spending has jumped to $127 billion from $63 billion in 2019, making it one of the largest welfare programs in the country. Amidst ongoing budget negotiations in Congress, there are discussions about modifying the program’s budget.

Straight Arrow News contributor Star Parker asserts that the government is handing out SNAP benefits too liberally. Parker suggests that lawmakers should consider a comprehensive overhaul aimed at restricting the number of individuals eligible for food stamps.

You might not know what SNAP benefits are — they are better known as food stamps. And despite its name, the vast majority of the spending in the Farm Bill goes to food stamps. It’s not a secret that food stamps are one of the largest of government welfare programs. And as regulations over our food producers continue to grow, our food stamp programs continue to grow. And it’s continuing to grow yet again.

Data as recent as this past May show that 42 million Americans are receiving food stamp benefits. It is a program that is long overdue for an overhaul. And by long, I mean it’s decades overdue. The last time we saw reforms was in the 90s.

But [in] recent years, oh my goodness, this program has become much more dire. In 2021, President Biden was so proud to take executive action and boost SNAP benefits by more than 20%. That is the largest one-time increase a program has ever seen. Even the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government agency, immediately then went in to review Biden’s actions. And they said this action was rushed. They said that it violated best practices. With Biden, none of that comes as a surprise.

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All opinions expressed in this article are solely the opinions of the contributors.

So here we are just finishing debate to avoid a government shutdown. The decision from Congress is, let’s kick the can down the road for the government to keep on spending while both our debt and our deficit grow. Again and again. But funding the government is not the only thing Congress is spending your tax money on. There’s a real reform needed — solid, conservative solutions are needed. But issue after issue, policy after policy, conservatives now are even splitting on how do we pursue limiting the size and scope of government. And while we watch for the overall federal budget to be passed for yet another year without reforms, there’s another looming deadline at the end of this year, something called the Farm Bill. And in this grant policy debate, one of the most critical spinning debates being discussed is regarding SNAP benefits.

You might not know what SNAP benefits are, they are better known as food stamps. And despite its name, the vast majority of the spending in the farm bill goes to food stamps. It’s not a secret that food stamps are one of the largest of government welfare programs. And as regulations over our food producers continue to grow, our food stamp programs continue to grow. And it’s continuing to grow yet again.

Data as recent as this past May show that 42 million Americans are receiving food stamp benefits. It is a program that is long overdue for an overhaul. And by long I mean it’s decades overdue. The last time we saw reforms were in the 90s. But recent years, oh my goodness, this program has become much more dire. In 2021, President Biden was so proud to take executive action and boost SNAP benefits by more than 20%. That is the largest one time increase a program has ever seen. Even the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government agency, immediately then went into reviewed Biden’s actions. And they said this action was rushed. They said that it violated best practices. With Biden, none of that comes as a surprise.

Oh, and President Biden is so proud of this. He’s proud of having more and more people join government welfare. And now in the coming weeks, as Congress decides upon the Farm Bill, you’ll probably start hearing an old Democrat song, that Republicans are trying to starve children or throw grandma over the cliff.

Perhaps you may have already started to hear these things about the debate, courtesy of our new House Speaker Mike Johnson. Mike Johnson’s ascension to the speakership amplified the issue loud and clear, because Johnson has done his work in this area. And in the past few weeks, he’s been talking about it, amplifying it. He wants to actually refer to food stamps as “our nation’s most broken and bloated welfare program.” So of course, he’s now facing more opposition. And not just because he’s a Bible believing Christian, as that was last week song, but because he actually believes in putting Americans back to work again. And the opposition, oh, it’s not just this time coming from Democrats, it’s coming from members of his own party. And to be clear, reforming this program means making a commitment to fiscal responsibility and accountability, and there are too many voices in Washington who do not want that, including people who live in farm states.

Not just for the purpose of how government spends its tax dollars should we be concerned. It means fiscal responsibility and accountability for each individual, and this is what America is about. The idea of America’s safety net was designed for emergencies. But unfortunately, like all of the government programs, the net has become a trap. An absolute hindrance. Hinders for everything positive about uniqueness and individualism. It is so unfortunate that all of our government welfare programs have become a never ending revolving door of government dependency. And SNAP benefits, like so many other government programs, are just given out far too easily. And today, the SNAP benefits, oh, they’re put on a beautiful ATM type swipe cards. So even the states are invested in these swipe cards but in their little state logos all over them.

So here we are with another budget deadline before a year in that affects our national debt and our national deficits. The decisions made in the coming weeks will shape the future of our nation SNAP program, and in turn shape the ethos of our nation’s culture of work and independence. We’ll either be a country in a society with the potential and the resilience of his people, or we’ll continue down this tragic path of becoming a culture and society of government dependency.

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