The Foodstamp Program: Necessary Reform

I am an employee at Sheetz. An employee for 3 1/2 years, I seen many things, ranging from car wrecks to angry customers throwing sandwiches at employees. But these unfortunate circumstances appear trivial when compared to the misuse of the Federal Foodstamp Program.

I once read a bumper sticker: "Keep working! Millions of people on Welfare depend on you."

Now, I am a proponent of helping the poor and needy. I wish that more Americans would take the initiative to help the needy themselves than rely on the Government to undertake this task. However, I know that it is necessary for these Government programs to exist.

My complaints against Foodstamps:

1.The Foodstamp Program is outdated because it has no restriction on items: Customers are free to buy any cold food item, including soda, candy bars, gum, potato chips, etc.

2. The Foodstamp Program is wasteful of tax payers' money: Customers are free to spend funds however they wish, in which they tend to buy expensive items (such as made to order sandwiches) rather than basic foods (such as flour, bread, packaged meat) for wholesome meals.

3. The Foodstamp Program is easily abused: the most common non-food items a Foodstamps customer buys is cigarettes and alcohol. Tax payer dollars are basically freeing Foodstamps customers' funds to afford these items.

4. The Foodstamp Program sets no goal: Foodstamps customers are given no incentive to get out of this Foodstamps-dependent state. On the contrary, it encourages customers to remain in this state.

5. The Foodstamps Program rewards immorality: People who have premarital sex and get pregnant are easily eligible for Foodstamps. This mindset in a way rewards premarital sex. Only those in financially desperate situations should be eligible for Foodstamps.

This is clearly evidence the Foodstamp program should at the very least be reformed, if not eliminated altogether. If reform were to occur, I would base it on changing the above points:

1. Restrict more stringently the items Foodstamps can buy: items such as basic foods (bread, eggs, lunch meats, cereals, milk) and basic ingredients (flour, baking products).

2. Place weekly allowances on all accounts.

3. Foodstamps families must provide record of expenses. (This also encourages financial independence in the future, and provides incentive).

4. Along with a record of expenses, customers should be required to allot funds for savings. Also, there should be goals, and rewards if families reach these goals.

5. Raise eligibility standards to only those who are financially desperate, apart from respect to national origin, sex, or religious convictions.

The first two above points are the core of the matter and the easiest to reform. Simple updates to computer systems would change the inventory items available for purchase with foodstamps. Weekly caps would be easy to set to fight wastefulness.

The second two points would be more difficult to produce. However, the solutions could be quite simple: Agents could be hired (such as social workers) to bring families out of poverty. Their tasks would be to assign a family a budget, create a savings account in which a family puts money weekly if not monthly. This would help create financial responsibility and further promote incentive to get out of poverty.

One thing is true: the Government is excellent at wasting tax-payer money. The Foodstamps program is an example, and needs reform in order to prove more resourceful with tax-payers' dollars.

Perhaps one day a bumper sticker will say, "Keep working. Your tax-dollars are helping families get back on their feet."