Posted on 05/18/2025 5:12:42 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Down in the swamps of Washington, D.C., our Congress is said to be hard at work hammering out a budget for the coming fiscal year. With a crisis of massive deficits looming, supposedly they are going to come up with some major areas where government spending can be cut.
One of the areas under consideration for significant cuts is the program formally known as the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” or SNAP, and informally known as “food stamps.” According to the latest data from the Department of Agriculture, as of February 2025 the SNAP program had some 42+ million “participation persons,” with the cost of the program running at just under $8 billion per month, which is close to $100 billion per year.
Is it possible to achieve meaningful savings in this program? That depends on whether you think that the government’s goal should be to maximize the number of people living on handouts and in a state of dependency, or whether instead you think that the government’s goal should be to maximize the number of people living by their own resources and without dependency. The history of the program over the past several decades would suggest that plenty of current program participants are fully capable of making it on their own.
However, needless to say, the left-wing press has risen to the occasion to defend every last penny of current spending on the ground that any cut would constitute a cruel blow to the vulnerable. For one example among many that are available, let me pick on my usual whipping boy, the New York Times. The Times has a piece from Monday (May 12) with the headline and subheadline “Republicans Target Federal Anti-Hunger Program as They Prepare Trump Tax Package; Limiting funding for SNAP could help defray the costs of President Trump’s tax plans, but could result in millions of low-income families losing access to aid.” Excerpt:
House Republicans on Monday proposed a series of sharp restrictions on the federal anti-hunger program known as food stamps, seeking to limit its funding and benefits as part of a sprawling package to advance President Trump’s tax cuts. . . . The moves could result in potentially millions of low-income families losing access to the safety net program.
On cue, the Times rolls out a program advocate to throw around some inflammatory rhetoric:
Proponents of the food stamp program say that it has long served as a critical lifeline for low-income families by ensuring that they do not experience hunger. . . . “Slashing billions from SNAP would deepen hunger, increase poverty, and weaken communities,” said Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center, an advocacy group.
However, looking at the history of the program, what emerges is that it became bloated during the Covid pandemic, and the Bidenauts were only to happy to keep it that way. The best resource I find for a counter-view on food stamps is something called the Economic Policy Innovation Center, or EPIC. They have a web page called the EPIC Food Stamps Resource, updated to May 1, 2025. Some key data:
- In 2001, when Bill Clinton left office, the number of participants in the food stamp program was 17.3 million.
- During the George W. Bush years, food stamp enrollment went up substantially, reaching 28 million in 2008.
- But then, once Barack Obama took office, enrollment really started to soar. As recounted in this Manhattan Contrarian post from 2013, the Obama administration undertook an aggressive advertising and outreach effort to maximize food stamp enrollment. By 2013, enrollment had reached 47.24 million. Essentially all of that increase took place during times of economic expansion, when the normal expectation would be that enrollment would decline.
- During his first term, Trump and his people made substantial progress in decreasing the food stamp rolls. By Trump’s last year in office, enrollment was down to just over 34 million, almost a 30% decrease.
Covid was the excuse for letting the food stamp rolls begin to explode again. But at this point the pandemic has been over for at least three years. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the rolls are at a high level because the Biden people wanted them to be at a high level.
EPIC gives some insights into how the numbers come to be so high. For example, the food stamp program supposedly has work requirements for any able-bodied adults. But the work requirements “are currently waived completely or in part in 34 states.” As a result, many able-bodied adults enrolled in the program simply do not work. EPIC gives figures for 2017-19: “Before the pandemic and Biden expansions, 13 million able-bodied adults received food stamp benefits on average between 2017 and 2019, yet 62 percent of these work-capable recipients did not work at all.” Since then, the evasion of the supposed work requirements has only gotten worse.
With food stamp program expenditures currently running at an annual rate of around $100 billion or more, there is lots of room for that to be reduced without anyone actually going hungry. If Bill Clinton could have food stamp rolls of well under 20 million people, that should be achievable again.
“Wasn’t that the problem that Social Security was supposed to solve?”
There was a time when it did. There was a time when SS was enough to get by on. But not anymore... Not in this insane economy.
Sounds good!
For any further food, go back to the old commodities system of the 1950s and 1960s.
It worked, you got the basics in the form of food, not money or cards.
I pay taxes too...
In a past career, my secretary and the welfare secretary shared the reception window. The welfare secretary got tired of their recipients hollering at her because they couldn’t buy milk for their kids but while waiting, they’d brag to their friends about getting their hair and nails done and a new outfit to go out on the weekend. Anyway, the welfare secretary crunched the numbers to prove they were getting more freebies than her working 40 hrs/wk and quit her job right then.
All gov’mt handouts must be time limited and then linked to getting and holding a job.
Oh, kiddies? OK. The gov’mt takes them. Problem solved.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10101.pdf
If you are experiencing homelessness, you can still get
SNAP benefits even if you do not have an address,
a place to stay, or a place to cook meals.
Is SSA.gov good enough proof for you?
We weren’t talking about work requirements. We were talking about the homeless. There is a difference.
“Can you get SNAP?
To get SNAP benefits, your household must meet certain
conditions and requirements. Your household includes
everyone who lives with you and who buys and prepares
food with you.
If you are experiencing homelessness, you can still get
SNAP benefits even if you do not have an address,
a place to stay, or a place to cook meals. You are
considered homeless if you do not have a fixed regular
nighttime residence or your primary nighttime residence is
a temporary accommodation in a:
• Supervised shelter.
• Halfway house.
• Residence of another person.
• Place not designated for regular sleeping, such as a
hallway, bus station, or lobby.”
Point to which of these is under a bridge, on the street, or in your car???
Like the old government beans and cheese, food stamps should cover about a dozen primary, inexpensive foods. And let anyone out of work or on a low income continue to receive them, at least for some time.
That’d cut the per-person cost by about 75%.
“Like the old government beans and cheese, food stamps should cover about a dozen primary, inexpensive foods. And let anyone out of work or on a low income continue to receive them, at least for some time.”
Absolutely. There absolutely should be a maximum list of what you can purchase. Staple foods only.
The maximum monthly SNAP benefit for a four-person household in Texas is $939. Remember the $939 SNAP is 70% of the $1350/mo the government thinks it takes to feed a family of 4. That is ****3 TIMES MORE**** than this household’s budget, which we usually stay under, so thanks to us not living off steak and lobster so others can, grrrr. That’s not counting all the food banks they go to. That’s also not counting the 360 free breakfasts and lunches their kids get at school and more lunches during the summer for ages 0-21. Seems we’re paying double for those meals.
We do not eat out so it is all cooking at home on a very doable $3.75/day/person. 11”x17” pizza = $3. 10 deli sandwiches using a copycat recipe = what 1 costs at the drive thru window. A 3 mu shu and side of rice plate at home = $1. A 40 oz plain cheesecake = $2.50. I’ve never purchased veg or meat broth in my life. A mini version of the Inaugural Congressional Luncheon using what was already at home (no steaks or truffles) of crabcakes with 2 sauces, marinated vegs, au gratin and ice cream with sauted apples and caramel = $3 and had enough leftover vegs for a $0 veg soup the next day. If I can do that, SNAP recipients can get off the couch and do the same. DOGE needs to cut welfare programs drastically.
Big lobby paid for my Coca Cola, Kellogg’s and Frito Lay. Psst, slice a 25 cent potato and fry it and you’ve got the equivalent to a $4 bag of chips. A quart of homemade yogurt costs 75 cents so a much healthier breakfast than a bowl of toxic chemicals. A glass of tap water is better than 10 teaspoons of sugar. RFK has a very hard job pushing healthy foods past these huge companies.
Similarly, I’d offer baseline dormitory housing for anyone who really needs it. Require something like 15-hours a week of work there and maintain high standards on drugs and hygiene.
Place not designated for regular sleeping, such as a
hallway, bus station, or lobby.”
Come on you are nitpicking. They don’t care where you are sleeping. A car, a tent, whatever. All you need is a mailing address and General Delivery works just fine.
I do potato fries at home in an air fryer. Can’t beat taste of freshly made warm fries with a touch of butter & oil mix, and sea salt.
Back in the day, junk food was banned from food stamps and people were healthier. They couldn’t buy Ocean Spray because it contained sugar but could buy 100% juice.
Makes no sense they get 360 free breakfasts and lunches during the school year and then more summer lunches for ages 0-21. SNAP somehow forgets to count those or the extra food some schools send for the weekend. And food banks. And other charities. Snort, the government can’t figure out why they’re obese.
SNAP thinks it takes **** 3 TIMES**** more than this kitchen does just from SNAP funds to feed America. Our food budget is $3.75/day/person. Somehow we’re charged an extra $7.50 each every day of our lives for someone else. Excuse me?!? That is from our working income rather than freebies. We don’t eat out so it is cooking from scratch. If I can do it with just half an hour actual hands on effort then the freeloaders can get off the couch and do the same.
DOGE needs to gut all of welfare.
States do have a say but follow like good little idiots and follow federal guidelines.
“All you need is a mailing address and General Delivery works just fine.”
That is absolutely not true. Not since 9-11. Take it from someone who has actually BEEN THERE and had to live out of trashcans.
“They don’t care where you are sleeping. A car, a tent, whatever.”
It absolutely indicates public space “INSIDE” a building. Hallway, bus station, or lobby.
All the while knowing that in every one of these spaces listed above you will get kicked out on the street for loitering or panhandling?
If you are honest and tell them you are living in your car or under a bridge you WILL NOT get them. BEEN THERE too... So? Are you suggesting we are supposed to commit fraud and lie to them if we are actually out in the street or living in our car?
Being on SNAP gets them free phones, free internet, discounts on utilities, etc.
We can keep some utilities down by sharing the one cheap phone that came with a cheap service, have the lowest internet data program and keeping the elec. bill down by not turning on lights during the day and keeping the a/c off until it is past miserable with 109 temps already but can’t do anything with the garbage bill at a heart palpitating $100/mo. It is a slap in the face to pay for others’.
I did not give much credit to stories like yours until I was in line at checkout to a woman who used food stamps. I went into the parking lot with her and saw her load groceries into a new Cadillac Escalade.
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