Jake's Take: Food Stamp Cuts
Jake's Take: Food Stamp Cuts
The GOP in the US House are aiming to cut yet another $20 billion from the program. This will lead to a cut of about $90 a month for a family of 4 at last check.
The SNAP program has seen relentless attacks and cuts since the TEA Party takeover in 2010 in the house. These cuts are real cuts that real Americans feel and they are unacceptable. At a time when congress is cutting funds for school lunch programs families can not provide their kids with nutritious foods for all 3 meals of the day without this program.
Sure there are some freeloaders milking the system, but a majority of those on SNAP are hard working Americans who through no fault of their own do not get paid enough to cover rent, bills, kids needs and food. So what effects could this have on the rest of the nation?
First and foremost is families will be forced to buy foods that are not healthy to make up for the lack of benefits. This could lead to an even larger obesity epidemic, which in turn will exacerbate a growing diabetes epidemic in this nation.
Then there are the economic impacts of cuts to this program. Many poor and middle class Americans rely on this program as their sole way of feeding their families. So by cutting the program even further, it will decrease not only their families nutrition but also their buying power as consumers. So in the long run it will have devastating effects on our overall economy.
No one would say there are not any cases of fraud in the program. This should be addressed by state and federal officials to find the best way to cut waste from the system without cutting benefits to the individuals on the program.
In the long run it would be more beneficial to health care cost and the overall economy of America to fully fund the program and then focus of the real cause of the need for the program. A minimum wage that has not kept up with inflation.
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