Where is the Line?

I just noticed an site that is running a poll as to whether or not it would be immoral for Congress to cut food stamps for the "poor". Interesting choice of words, isn't it? Food stamps, or as it is now known, the SNAP program, is for the "poor". Phrased that way, who would want to cut funding? We all want to help the poor, don't we? But that sidesteps the main question here: Who exactly is poor?

In 2011, there were over 45 million Americans receiving food stamps at a cost of close to $80 billion dollars. In 1975, when the nationwide food stamp program began, there were 14 million folks who were elligible. Since then, the population of the USA increased by by 44% while the numbers of folks on food stamps have increased by over 300%. So food stamps are growing six time faster than the increase in the population. Are all these folks poor?

Have you ever heard the ads on TV that tell you that one child in five in the USA is going to be hungry? How can that be? We already have one-sixth of the country on food stamps. Then we have all sorts of food banks and other programs that are feeding the hungry. But still we get told about the terrible problem of hunger.

The real truth is that we ought to be promoting a path for people to get off of food stamps, not one where ever increasing numbers depend on the government for their food. It sounds harsh to say that many of these folks will have to work harder if they lost government assistance, but it is not. Those who cannot fend for themselves need to have the safety net to protect them. Those who are just taking advantage of the program should be told to fend for themselves.