Member-only story
We’ve all heard the arguments against food stamps. Critics complain that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP, encourages laziness, funds drug habits, and creates a burden for taxpayers.
“These people need to get off their butts and get a job like the rest of us,” they gripe. “They eat better than me. They’re out there buying lobster and soda with my tax dollars.”
“They just sell their food stamps for drugs and guns. The government is encouraging their addiction,” other anti-SNAP folks protest, even though the food stamp trafficking rate sits at just 1%.
Then there are the SNAP haters who like the idea of the program but feel it just isn’t successful. “People are still going hungry,” they say, reminding us that average food stamp recipient only gets $127 per month. That’s approximately $1.40 per meal, and this number drops even lower when you consider the average SNAP household — as in, a home with multiple family members — only receives $256 per month.
But have you ever thought what might happen if the United States completely eliminates the food stamp program? Regardless of how you feel about SNAP, our country needs food stamps to survive. There are more than 42 million food stamp recipients in America, and our country’s economy is built around these benefits.
