What We Learned During the Government Shutdown

 

Members of Congress shut down the Government on October 1.  It hasn’t taught us anything we didn’t already know about them. It has only reinforced that both sides of the aisle are filled with feckless, inept, and dishonest elected officials who regularly engage in manipulating the public.

 

We did learn there is a real threat to our freedom that has been hidden deep in the shadows beyond our awareness, now exposed by this shutdown.  Many of us were shocked to learn there are 41.7 million people in our country who are receiving subsidies every month to pay for their food from a program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly food stamps.  This represents more than 12% of our population and has doubled from 6% in 2000. The annual cost is more than $100 billion. How is this possible in a country of such immense bounty and opportunity?

 

In the 1970’s 1 in 50 people received SNAP benefits.  Today, there are 1 in 8. Here is some of what we know.

 

SNAP is federally funded through the Department of Agriculture and administered by the states.  Participation differs across states and is affected by economic conditions and policy.  In Wisconsin, SNAP is called Food Share. Wisconsin has taken a more liberal approach to eligibility than many other states and has seen dependence on the program grow in response. In 2003, the earliest year for which I could find data, there were 120,000 Wisconsin residents (5.7% of the population) receiving SNAP benefits.  Today, there are 700,000 residents (more than 370,000 households and 11.8% of the population) receiving SNAP benefits at a cost of $1.3 billion a year.

 

Wisconsin has expanded eligibility for SNAP beyond what is required by the Federal government in a number of ways.  Individuals 18 – 54 are required to work a minimum of 80 hours per month at a paid job, in job training or in a volunteer job such as AmeriCorps. Wisconsin increased the gross income limit to 200% of the Federal poverty level while many states follow the Federal guideline of 130%.  Wisconsin also uses Broad Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) which means if an individual has other public assistance they automatically qualify for SNAP, bypassing other means tests.  Most states have an asset limit to qualify for SNAP (for example $3,000). Wisconsin has none.

 

The Big Beautiful Bill, also called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed by President Trump on July 4, is targeting waste, fraud and abuse in public assistance programs to ensure their availability for the truly vulnerable.  It will eliminate some of the flexibility Wisconsin has had at the state level. Examples include increasing the adult work requirement from ages 18-54 to 18-64.  Parents of kids 14 and older are now required to work. Pregnant women, formerly exempt, must now work.

 

A visit to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website provides insight into the rigor with which the SNAP program is administered. Basic Work Rules of the program are followed by a List of “Exemptions to Basic Work Rules”.  A few examples of exemptions are:

 

• In school, training program, or college at least half time.

• Can’t work because you’re homeless.

• Babysit for a child age 5 or younger who doesn’t live with you.

 

The list of exemptions is followed by a list of “Good Cause Reasons Not to Follow Basic Work Rules” and includes as examples:

 

• Didn’t accept a job or quit because it was not a good fit.

• Quit a job to move.

• Quit a job to volunteer for a qualified program such as AmeriCorps.

• Didn’t have transportation to a job.

 

Dabbling in work will not get you back on your feet when facing hard times.  Working more, not less, than the average person is required.  Quitting a job because it isn’t a good fit, volunteering in a position that doesn’t pay, or babysitting a child who doesn’t live with you should not be options if you are not supporting yourself. One of my greatest lessons on work came from my oldest brother who returned home from Vietnam when he was 20 after being shot down and badly wounded while piloting a helicopter in the US Army.  He married his high school sweetheart and set out in pursuit of his dream of becoming an airline pilot.  He ultimately retired as the Captain of an Air Bus after many years of flying. The path forward was not easy and in the early years he worked as a janitor at a local high school to support his young family and pay for the training required to realize his dream.  He once told me when reflecting back on the long journey, “you do the work you can get until you can get the work you want.” I never forgot this.  It’s the right way to live.

 

Any serious attempt to understand and address the massive expansion of the supplemental food program must include coming to terms with significant changes in how we are living over the past 40 years.  In 1970, 11% of the births in the United States were to single mothers.  Today, 40% of children are born to single mothers, not only depriving them of the many benefits of two married parents in the home, but also significantly increasing the likelihood they will live in poverty.  40% of single parent households participate in SNAP.  Many of the welfare laws, including SNAP, create a disincentive to marriage by providing greater benefits to unmarried individuals than to a married couple with an identical income.

 

 The labor participation rate measures the percent of working-age people who are either employed or actively looking for work. In the late 1970’s the rate was greater than 66%.  In 2025, the rate is 62.3%.  At first glance these differences may not appear great, but each 1% of participation represents 2.74million people. In Wisconsin, the current labor participation rate is 64.8%. In 1997, Wisconsin’s labor participation rate peaked at 75%.  Each 1% in Wisconsin represents about 50,000 workers.

 

A statistic that is equally important but less discussed is known as “Not in the Labor Force”.  This figure reflects individuals who are 16 or older who are not working or not actively looking for work. In 1990 25% of the population was “not in the labor force”.  Today it’s 30%.  In Wisconsin, in 1990, 33.6% of the population was “not in the labor force.”  Today it’s 37.7%.

 

There is little doubt that the vast pool of nearly 42 million people who are recipients of the SNAP program span a continuum from the truly vulnerable who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own to those who are free riders.

 

 Any debate about something so fundamental as access to the food we need to live is going to inevitably be emotionally and politically charged. There is certain to be much disagreement about the best means to our ends, but we ought to be able to agree on a goal of self-sufficiency for every American with the capacity to achieve it.  Programs like SNAP should be a bridge to self-sufficiency for most, not a way of life.

 

A core tenet of extreme liberal ideology is dependence on the government. It pushes an agenda of taking care of people rather than analyzing and addressing why they are not taking care of themselves. The election of Zohran Mamdani last Tuesday as the Mayor of New York City on promises of free stuff for everyone pushes this agenda to a new level. Dependence is an enemy of freedom. There will always be vulnerable people who are unable to care for themselves through no fault of their own. A compassionate society will take care of them until they are back on their feet or permanently, when circumstances warrant it.  However, if you are young and able-bodied, the most charitable thing you can do for others is to take care of your own responsibilities.  A compassionate society will expect it.

 

During the government shutdown we learned that nearly 42 million people are receiving subsidies every month to pay for their food.  The number is growing and there is no talk of identifying and eliminating the root causes that have moved us in this direction. There is no freedom without self-sufficiency. What are we going to do about it?