A new report by the Committee To Unleash Prosperity shows that after adjusting for inflation, food stamp spending is up 60% from 2019 and has tripled in real terms from the pre-Obama levels.
The report also details that more than 62% (using the United States Department of Agriculture USDA‘s own numbers) of those who receive food stamps are of working age and are able-bodied but choose not to work.
In 2001, 17.3 million were enrolled in the food stamp program. As of 2023, that number surged to just over 42. The cost to the taxpayer jumped from $31 billion (in inflation-adjusted terms) to $135 billion.
The report says the food stamp benefits have increased faster than inflation, primarily from Biden administration policies.
The federal government continues to make what it calls “improper payments” to individuals on food stamps.
An improper payment consists of several levels. One that should not have been made or was made in the incorrect amount. The amount went to the wrong recipient, the recipient.
Inspector Generals for the U.S. government say many improper payments involve fraud, abuse, and waste.
Over the last twenty fiscal years, an estimated $2.7 trillion has been spent on improper payments.
The USDA has reported more than $45.75 billion of improper payments between FY 2003 and FY 2022.
Economist Steve Moore says that when the government shut down businesses in 2020 due to COVID-19, it allowed people to get on welfare and still hasn’t removed them from the rolls.
The report says that although some modest federal work requirements have begun to kick in, states run by Democrats aren’t enforcing that law or have waived the mandate.
Author
