Food stamps are the most inefficient, vastly expanding social welfare program in the country, according to a new study.
Forty-seven million people participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, and costs have increased over 358 percent since 2000.
The increase in recent years cannot be attributed to the economic recession, according to Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, but lax eligibility requirements and an aggressive campaign by governments to boost their rolls.
“This program has expanded rapidly over the last decade in a way that is not justified by the recession that we went through,” Tanner said.
“There’s very little bang for all this increased buck.”
Tanner’s report, “SNAP Failure: The Food Stamp Program Needs Reform,” finds that in 2000 the cost of the food stamp program was just $17 billion. It has risen in cost to $78 billion today.
Spending on advertising and outreach for food stamps by federal and state governments has also increased, now amounting to $41.3 million a year.
States like Florida have hired “food stamp recruiters,” who have a quota of signing up 150 new recipients each month. Rhode Island hosts “SNAP-themed bingo games,” and the USDA tells its field offices to throw parties to get more people on their rolls.
Despite the additional spending, the USDA claims 18 million Americans are still “food insecure.”
Tanner notes the program is more successful in breeding dependence on government, which was apparent last weekend when the EBT system shutdown in several states, resulting in chaos.
Via: WFB
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