Just as society is concerned about expenses and profits, elected representatives needs to have the same assessment of costs and benefits in regards to attaining savings through cuts in existing Texas aid programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which is mostly funded by federal money. Even though it provides nutritional aid, policymakers should tighten the controls on the program because it is non-taxable income, has loopholes, and increases government spending. As stated in the article The Next Welfare Reform: Food Stamps by Jason Riley, “between 2000 and 2013, SNAP caseloads nationwide grew to 47.6 million from 17.2 million, and spending grew to $80 billion from $20.6 billion (15).” As the Texas House and Senate look for ways to reduce the deficit, it would be wise to review the costs, potentially to reduce spending, as well as the savings associated with the program.
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A couple of years ago, my husband and I were laid off from our jobs. We relocated back to Texas, and right away were aggressively looking for work. During this unemployment phase were being compensated by the unemployment insurance program, however when we applied for SNAP assistance, we were denied. Over the years, I have witnessed our working society misuse the system throughout the year by receiving all this ‘free government money,’ only then to additionally receive a substantial amount of money back when they file their year-end taxes. According to Kate Kahan and George Wentworth in the article, Out of Work and Out of Luck, “there are huge gaps in our system (17).” Possibly if welfare programs were considered as taxable income, society would stop depending on the government to take care of
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were laid off from our jobs. We relocated back to Texas, and right away were aggressively looking for work. During this unemployment phase were being compensated by the unemployment insurance program, however when we applied for SNAP assistance, we were denied. Over the years, I have witnessed our working society misuse the system throughout the year by receiving all this ‘free government money,’ only then to additionally receive a substantial amount of money back when they file their year-end taxes. According to Kate Kahan and George Wentworth in the article, Out of Work and Out of Luck, “there are huge gaps in our system (17).” Possibly if welfare programs were considered as taxable income, society would stop depending on the government to take care of