Few human conditions evoke more sympathy than hunger. For reasons that go back eons, people tend to be sympathetic to others who are hungry, even if those who go hungry could afford to lose a few pounds. My local Walmart stores are currently prompting customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar with the change going to a local food bank.
Thirty years ago, former president Bill Clinton signed into law legislation ending welfare as we know it. Yet the U.S. government spends $100 billion annually on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, the biggest antihunger program in America. Money is fungible. Giving families free food is another way to boost income, but most Americans support the SNAP program even though many would oppose giving away cash. The cost of SNAP reached a record high of $128 billion the year after Covid and was $127 billion in 2022. More than 40 million people receive food stamps.
The SNAP program is commonly referred to as food stamps, from back in the day when it was literally stamps. Nowadays benefits tend to be on debit cards. Years ago, an economics instructor said he had played poker with friends and some of the cash in the game was literal food stamps. The going rate was $0.50 cents on the dollar. I have heard that some unscrupulous food stores will still pay $0.50 cents on the dollar for those willing to sell their benefits. Selling (or stealing) food stamps isn’t the only type of fraud that occurs, however.
The USDA recently began an initiative to battle food stamp fraud and abuse. Existing loopholes in federal regulations require no asset test to qualify. Thus, recipients can live in large houses and drive luxury cars but still qualify for the SNAP program if their income appears low enough on paper. According to the Secretary of Agriculture, 14,000 individuals from just one red state drive luxury cars, including three Bentleys, three Ferraris, three Lamborghinis, 59 Maseratis and 141 Porsches. More than 2,000 people on food stamps from this unnamed state drive Teslas, while several hundred have a Land Rover. One study found that Lexus was the most common luxury car brand owned by food stamp recipients. Taxpayers are indirectly helping pay for those luxuries.
Oddly enough, 244,000 people receiving food stamps are dead. I’m no doctor but your nutritional requirements drop to zero once dead. About 500,000 people are receiving food stamp benefits from more than one state. New York, California, Alabama, and Oklahoma are the four states with the largest amount of stolen SNAP benefits. Reported by Fox News:
“California alone loses nearly $14 million every day from SNAP to EBT skimming, out-of-state and country beneficiaries and eligibility lapses at a time when technology exists to close every gap, quickly.”
Public health experts agree that obesity is a bigger problem for the poor than hunger in American by a wide margin. There are even discussions of forcing Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers to cover GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. I suspect an easier way to reduce obesity would be to reduce the SNAP program. Basic asset tests, using existing technology to check for eligibility and restricting what types of foods can be purchased would make the program more sustainable. Basic guardrails could also reduce the cost, but reasonable calculations suggest the program should be scaled back.
I have often argued that hunger in the United States is no longer a problem. Rather, it is a symptom of other societal problems. Some of these include drug abuse, child neglect, dementia, old age, and disability. Getting enough calories to sustain life is easy nowadays. There are always several types of meats marked down in the butcher’s bargain bin at my local Kroger. My local Walmart sells 20-pound bags of Arroz long grain rice for $13.48 and 12-pound bags of pinto beans are $27.99. A ratio of 2-to-3 parts rice to 1-part beans creates a complete protein. It also tastes surprisingly good when seasoned correctly. That is why a significant part of the world eats some rice & beans at every meal. A back-of-the-envelope calculation shows 2,000 calories of rice & beans costs only about $1.06 plus any seasonings, fats, or meat to add flavor. Incorporate canned vegetables into your diet and you can feed an adult for $500 a year. SNAP needs to be scaled back to help those truly in need, not just provide a roundabout way to supplement income.
Read more at Fox News:
USDA’s Brooke Rollins claims 14,000 SNAP recipients drove luxury cars
SNAP fraud hits 226,000 claims as Trump admin requires reapplication