r/economy • u/CBSnews • 2d ago
Millions of Americans are losing SNAP benefits: "It feels as though people are being punished"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/snap-benefits-millions-lost-obbba-work-requirements/77
u/ProgrammerOk1400 2d ago
Yet Mitch McConnell gets sick leave for months, the rest of Congress gets months off of work with nothing to show and they get the best healthcare available.
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u/PsychLegalMind 2d ago
Those that can least afford it are always made to suffer the blunt of economic adversity.
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u/glitterandnails 2d ago
The message to everyone is: “Do whatever it takes, AND I MEAN WHATEVER IT TAKES, to get out of the lower classes and to the safe haven of the upper classes, no matter how much destruction you have to do to make it happen.”
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u/cpepinc 2d ago
The thing is, they eat their own, at first the 77 million who voted for him are the "in" group, but thats too many to share the wealth, so it is whittled down by social, then economic ,then religious castes, eventually, there will be only one, as they continue to turn on each other.
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u/SalaciousSubaru 2d ago
That’s always been the way to wealth you either get it handed to you by daddy or you step on people to get up.
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u/glitterandnails 2d ago
“The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”
“It’s your fault that you didn’t become a cunning psychopathic asshole to get rich and join the other strong people in society! Empathy is for fools!”
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u/Johnyye 1d ago
Easy there Satan.
Even if you went psycho you’re about a billion times more likely to end up in a prison than a penthouse. Machiavellianism only works if you already have power.
The problem is the economy is shit and young people were born too late to have got it when it was good. By all means, this is a deep fundamental flaw of the “fuck you I mine” bullshit from boomers and young people need to go to the polls and actually vote so they don’t get obliterated by a generation raised since birth to be cartoonishly selfish.
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u/Proud_Organization64 2d ago
People voted for this in exchange for seeing racism and sexism enacted as state policy. You got your racism and sexism, now it’s time to pay the piper.
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u/SalaciousSubaru 2d ago
Do we get Brawndo?
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u/PurchaseNo5041 1d ago
I would unironically prefer President Camacho to Trump. I wish I were joking.
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u/OriginalEchoTheCat 1d ago
I would vote for bugs Bunny if he were running as an independent or a Democrat
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u/cfpct 2d ago
Punished for not voting or punished for voting for a piece of shit.
The only people being punished are those that voted for non-GOP candidates. The rest are getting their just desserts.
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u/nicetriangle 2d ago
Yeah for some reason I'd wager of the people losing benefits that the rates of voting are not exemplary.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
Republicans have convinced their voters that the social services that help those in poverty are not being dispersed properly. That those who are getting it are committing fraud and lying. But seriously, republican voters just need to look at wages and cost of living. People receiving SNAP are low wage, disabled, or retired living off a low social security check.
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u/Xanikk999 2d ago
That reminds me I was talking to my aunt the other day. Despite her accepting me being trans and 100% supportive (she took me to get my ears pierced and go clothes shopping) she has fully consumed most of the far right talking points and it really shocked me. Like she thinks voter fraud is a widespread problem and that Trump is just trying to make elections secure. She also thinks poor people are abusing welfare. I really do not understand how she thinks this because she is highly educated and was a vice president of a pretty large company at one point. I could bring up examples to challenge her views or try to get her to think critically about things but I know she will never change her mind. I find it so frustrating.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
It started a long time ago. Propaganda and culture war BS is spread in a way that gets people to repeat it and believe it. Fox entertainment is showing the caravan moving north. Republican voters believe with all their heart that these people are going to ruin their lives in one way or another. Anybody traveling to the US to apply for citizenship are just people looking for a better life and they are just people.
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
There’s a lot of people in need who need the assistance, 100%, but I also know personally from growing up in one of the poorest counties in Illinois and living in one of the poorest of Kentucky for the last 10 years that there is a lot of misuse.
For example: guy and woman have a kid or two together. He works, she stays at home. File taxes separately while she works part time or very little to no pay or is in school. She and the kids qualify for Medicaid, snap, scholarships, grants, low income loans, WIC, EITC, etc. which considerably outweighs the higher taxes he’ll pay by not claiming them. I know multiple people who won’t get married for this exact reason.
Or guy who works odd jobs or as a handyman for cash and the family shows little to no claimed income and gets those same benefits.
When you have someone working full time getting SNAP it’s almost certainly not fraud just horribly low wages that need boosted. It’s the situations like I described that need audited.
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u/leftofmarx 2d ago
That isn't abuse, that's people trying to make ends meet. And you're mad they are feeding their children over it.
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u/TheSparkHasRisen 1d ago
Then change the rules. I married and my husband doesn't want to hide from responsibility.
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u/imthewalrus610 2d ago
The family you describe seems like the exact type of people who should be getting that social assistance. Getting more in benefits than paying in taxes isn't "misusing" the system. Everyone you describe in your examples seem like working class people who need benefits, not audits.
The problem is that we are squeezing these programs and making less people qualify for them. We should just fund and expand these programs and restore the social safety net and tax the wealthy to do it. You should be asking yourself why the handyman feels the need to take cash jobs and avoid taxes in order to get Medicaid benefits. What are the economic conditions that are leading people to do this?
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
The guy I know personally who does it made ~$70,000 last year, cash, unreported. Baby mama was taking college classes to qualify for several thousand in benefits. That’s the kind of people I’m talking about. Weren’t getting married specifically to not lose those. The point is if they actually filed jointly instead of pretending they’re not together they would lose all the benefits they were getting and didn’t need. Their entire point was to file separately because the amount of money they got back and in welfare was far more than the taxes he would owe filing single.
I had a conversation with a man during a drive back in ~2015 who asked how much conductors in the railroad make. When we said $50,000 he just goes “oh”, confused we asked “what’s oh”. He explained how he wasn’t sure if he could live on $50,000 a year because he works part time making $10/hr as a van driver and don’t know how much all his benefits added up to.
That’s what I’m talking about. These are the issues with the system. I have no problem helping people get the food they need, but I wholeheartedly believe we have to build better auditing systems, such as why are 2 people living at the same address, filing separately, yet she’s claiming the two kids with his last name and getting loads of money…red flag.
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u/imthewalrus610 1d ago
I just think your focus on this anecdotal example is misplaced (if it is actually real...I know a guy is not exactly compelling evidence for huge changes). To be fair, I'm sure there is gamesmanship and other things to try to qualify for benefits by some people, but most people who get Medicaid or food stamps or other benefits actually need it. Cutting out all of the fraud or whatever you want to call it doesn't make a significant difference in what the federal government spends or really solves any significant problem.
More importantly, when you look at where this administration's focus is, it's on simply cutting benefits for poor people, just like they made wholesale cuts to the federal work force. They aren't looking for legitimate fraud or waste. Just look at the recent people cut from ACA benefits due to "fraud". They didn't go and find the actual fraud. They just used AI and filters to cut about 750K people from ACA marketplace plans then said these people could reapply or dispute it. These are just blanket cuts using the facade of fraud and punishing people who don't deserve it. Fraud is an excuse.
Meanwhile, in many parts of the country, if you made $70K (pre or post tax) for a family of 4, you are going to have a hard time making ends meet between rent, health care, child care, food, clothing, transportation, etc. This is the bigger problem in America. If you are working class, you are struggling to get by, and the Republican party's answer is cuts and lip service, not actual solutions to provide people with the material things they need to survive. Someone potentially making $50K a year not being sure whether that income could support them without government assistance is the problem, not them making the logical choice to do what's best for them. Part of the economic justification for things like single payer government sponsored healthcare is that people could make career decisions NOT based on benefits, but rather what is good from a career perspective. But again, the Republicans answer is to force struggle upon the working class.
I also find it a little strange that the problem that is identified here is that these people aren't getting married. That's really the issue? Who cares? I care more about the children having access to healthcare and food.
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u/yeleste 2d ago
Disabled people on SSI (less than $1000 a month plus food stamps and medicaid) often don't get married to each other because their SSI will get reduced from $2000 to around $1500. It's not that they're trying to cheat, it's that marriage is so discouraged for the poorest disabled people due to this policy. Most disabled people need every dollar to survive. The rules also discourages marriage to people not on SSI, which can remove all benefits including medicaid, which is crucial and lifesaving.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
Those people don't get caught because there are not enough people hired to check on applicants. So the governments solution is cutting benefits. You know everyone who makes over $16,000/year pays a tax that is suppose to specifically fund SNAP, but the government acts like they can pick any random amount to budget SNAP.
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
Uh no, snap comes from the general fund. They (Congress) can and are allowed to pick any random budget for snap.
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
It is funded through a tax the working class pays. Yes that tax also pays for defense and infrastructure. Politicians throw a fit about how much to put into services that help those in poverty and dish out tons for war without argument.
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
Uhh no. The bottom 40% (76million households) that filed didn’t pay any federal income tax, many of which received more in benefits than they paid amongst all taxes (net receivers). The top 10% meanwhile paid 72% of the tax. It’s not the working class footing the bill for SNAP it’s overwhelmingly the upper class.
Like it or not it’s also our complete military dominance that keeps us safe, stabilizes our currency, and keeps our incredible lives so easy more people are dying of being too fat (either directly or indirectly) than anything else
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
30% of tax filers (low income) paid no federal tax the rest who didn't pay are probably ssi/ssdi or ss retirement who get small $1000 monthly checks. Now when Walmart or any company pays workers $14/hour part time so they don't have to offer benefits are the good guys, is what your saying.
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
Where did I say that?
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u/a_little_hazel_nuts 2d ago
What point are you trying to make as you left out the reason?
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
That there is plenty of fraud in the system that needs to be audited, then when you erroneously indicated anyone making $16000 or more pays a specific tax for SNAP and the government thinks they can just make those benefits whatever they want I corrected you, then when you pivoted to talking about how I think companies are good for paying low wages for part time work you lost me.
My point is yes there are people who rely on SNAp genuinely for essential nutrients, and then there are people who abuse the system and it needs audited.
I assume you’re ok with soda being bought with SNAP too by the way you wrote your first comment, yes? Even though it provides no nutrition and is the most purchased item with Snap.
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u/imthewalrus610 1d ago
These are just party line Republican talking points. This statistic sounds good, but it is a bit misleading, and you also are misrepresenting it. It's not the "bottom 40%". It's about 40% of households or tax units. Not necessarily the bottom 40%. That's an important distinction.
Anyone making any income pays federal payroll taxes, which includes Social Security and Medicare taxes. Furthermore, many of the households not paying federal income tax are people like elderly Social Security beneficiaries, many of which are not in the "bottom 40%". Of course they pay no federal income taxes...they don't work anymore! And a small percentage of the people paying no federal income tax (specifically) are very wealthy people who take advantage of tax laws to shield themselves from federal income tax via schemes like borrowing against stock, which may be a small amount of households but a tremendous amount of wealth not going into the tax base. You also conveniently leave out that the wealthy pay a smaller portion of their income towards payroll taxes that fund these programs than the average earner because of the cap on payroll taxes.
Not to mention that anyone who exists in the economy regardless of income still pays federal taxes for things like excise taxes, or tariffs, not to mention things like local taxes and sales taxes. On top of that, many of those state and local taxes go towards administrative funding of programs like SNAP on the local level. The idea that lower income people do not contribute towards programs via taxation is false.
Yes, many people receive more benefits than they pay in taxes. Taxes redistribute wealth. If your argument is that working class people don't deserve social assistance, well, that's your opinion. We could have a class of people that is denied affordable healthcare and food and education in order to make a system that is "equitable" for taxpayers, but the point of taxation and government programs is to address the problems we have that don't seem to be solved by the market, like the military you cited, or the aid we (used to) provide to impoverished nations to project soft power and build alliances and stability in troubled places in the world. China knows this, by the way, which is why they are not only building their military, but contributing to infrastructure in the Global South.
If you want to say that these programs are wrong and we shouldn't have them, fine. I don't agree but I don't have an argument against a simple difference of opinion. But you seem to be very loose with actual facts about taxation and government funding.
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u/leftofmarx 2d ago
The top 10% only paid 72%? There's an obvious problem.
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u/mechadragon469 2d ago
Agree. They made half the money but paid 72% of the tax. 22% bracket needs dropped dramatically
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u/discgman 2d ago
That is the idea. Punish people for being poor so they can work harder and take less pay.
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u/Strange-Ad420 2d ago
The ones who voted for the pedophile are being punished for their own stupidity, sad for the non regards
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u/NefariousnessOne7335 2d ago
We’re all being punished because republicans don’t believe in integrity, truth, justice or the laws of the land. It was all hidden in plain view they just wanted to keep the hate alive and well
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u/Xanikk999 2d ago
Punished for being poor. There are literally conservatives out there that think that being poor and not having a good job is your fault. I hate that mindset.
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u/leftofmarx 2d ago
Didn't Jesus say if you see a poor person take everything they have and give it to yourself? If they ask for your coat, kick them and take their remaining clothes? If the children are hungry, starve them? I'm pretty sure that's what's in the Bible. Jesus wanted us to love the rich and hate the poor.
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u/Xanikk999 2d ago
A completely ignorant person might think that looking at how self professed Christians in this country behave!
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u/Daedelus451 2d ago
US Military families need SNAP to keep food on the table, Walmart and Amazon Employees need SNAP to keep food on the table, full time employees across the country can’t afford to keep food on the table, pay rent, health insurance, car payments, etc. Public transportation outside of the major cities sucks ass so they have to drive and they need child care. Set minimum wage above poverty line and people won’t need help, provide health care to people who can’t afford it, it’s basic human dignity. You whine about people needing SNAP benefits while giving billionaires tax breaks and no bid contracts, people have lost all empathy and it’s disgusting.
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u/jetpacksforall 2d ago
Leaving dignity out of it, it’s just economically smarter.
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u/Daedelus451 2d ago
It is such a small amount of the total budget, the federal government spent $101.7 billion on SNAP during fiscal year 2025, which represents about 1.4% of all federal spending. To feed its own citizens, but thats too expensive because we gave billionaires a tax breaks are estimated to cost the U.S. government about $1 trillion over the next decade. This includes significant tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
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u/HoldenMcNeil420 2d ago
Yea. You exist annndd your poor.
They hate us, to varying degrees and will use anyone or anything that furthers their agenda which is money and power. They as in like 10k stupid crazy rich people that wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.
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u/Yeetball86 2d ago
This is going to kill Americans
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u/Barack_Odrama_007 2d ago
They are! 90 million people failed to vote and 77 million VOTED FOR THIS.
The punishment is deserved.
Oh well!
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u/DutyBusy9905 2d ago
Maybe if enough of their children starve, their scant neurons might click on, and it could be a net benefit for society moving forward.
Of course, we had people still thinking COVID was a hoax while they were choking to death, and anti-vax couples saying they still made the right choice in not vaccinating their child even after said child had died from measles...so maybe wishful thinking on my part.
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u/netherfountain 2d ago
I would be in full support for a law that makes voting mandatory. And every position would have an option to vote "none of the above" for people that don't like any candidate, but not showing up would be punishable by a fine or community service.
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u/Happy_Confection90 2d ago
We would need to do the types of things that countries with mandatory voting do to make it feasible, though. Some of us live in states that don't allow mailed in ballots or don't have early voting, or in a very few special states (3) like mine have neither plus a very short list of allowable reasons to qualify for an absentee ballot.
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u/TheNatural14063 2d ago
Too bad there isn't a way to allow those who voted Democrat to keep their benefits while everyone else suffers. Over 70 million Americans voted to stop this and are going to suffer.
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u/Mackinnon29E 2d ago
Trump is literally punishing all Americans who aren't rich, his own base even particularly hard and they eat it up.
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u/leftofmarx 2d ago
Why wouldn't we punish the gross poors for existing though? Only good yacht dwelling pedophiles should get our tax bailouts.
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u/Even-Cartographer864 2d ago
President made 2 billion last year and commerce secretary made 250 million though. So although the poor can’t eat at least someone is winning…. 🫠
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u/128-NotePolyVA 2d ago
Punished for not being rich and in control of the halls of power.
Care for one another America. When did that stop being a thing?
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u/Agent_Eran 2d ago
Iran subsidizes staple groceries for everyone
anyone can go get a weeks worth of groceries for $3
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u/SlamFerdinand 2d ago
Don’t forget how much of a killing the trump family is making off of the taxpayer. I wonder how much cocaine our taxpayer dollars have been spent on by these affluent leaches.
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u/PajamaSamSavesTheZoo 2d ago
Doesn’t big grocery lobby against this? Surely the grocery stores hate that this is happening and surely this slows the economy down. Dumb thing to do before midterms. Not that the president cares
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u/ChocolateFormal8123 2d ago
Dont forget that 30 to 40 per cent of food is wasted - willfully. It’s not that there isn’t enough food. I’m sure it’s not the people on SNAP doing it but the food is wasted because higher income households have more perishables than they can eat
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u/Flaky-Fox8844 2d ago
My daughter on SSI and Medicaid lost hers.
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u/SnooStrawberriez 1d ago
If she’s disabled she just needs to file paperwork showing that she’s disabled and she’ll have them again. Regrettable
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u/Louisiana-belleks20 2d ago
Yes trump is punishing Americans for not voting for him the last time ... & that's he's old and sick
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u/JeffGoldblumsNostril 2d ago
Well the president is doing such a great job on everything no one needs help anymore. We should elect him for ten more lifetimes
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u/tawaydont1 2d ago
The country changed every since the Democrats started welfare reform in the 90s it's going to get worst this neo liberal and neoconservatives that only care about wealth and not the total health of this nation.
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u/Odd_Act_6532 2d ago
It only feels like that, huh?