Thank you so much for these deep dives!! I always learn so much more than I knew. And I think it helps if people understand what is going on behind the curtains. Again thank you. My money is well spent on this journalism.
"...meaning either that the payments were too high, too low, or shouldn’t have been received at all." Is this $10.5B of "improper" payouts not broken down into more transparent accounting? It would help me formulate my opinion on the meaningfulness of this administrations focus on trying to root out fraud. I guess I'm predisposed to let these things slide for the needy and focus more on corporate largess (socialism) and military contract waste, as the dollar amount might be way higher.
A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. The trends in poverty and SNAP expenditures track, but I find it interesting that the SNAP curve crossed the poverty curve relatively recently. What was that all about?
I checked out the percentages of improper payments for SNAP, SS & Medicaid. (With the GAO report for SNAP and AI for SS & Medicaid.) The 11.5% of improper SNAP compares to less than 1% of SS (and that is mostly overpayments) and 5.09% for Medicaid.
I was shocked to learn from a furniture dealer in a low income area here in NC that EBT cards were often traded to make furniture purchases. I have never observed any cashier check a SNAP card with an ID.
When there is an eligible person in the household is the amount of assistance calculated based on the eligible person or on the number in the household who share food? According to an AI search one in five children--20% of children living in the U.S.--receive SNAP benefits. Something about a poverty rate of 12% compared to that 20% seems off.
There is no asset test in Massachusetts. One can have significant liquid assets and live in very posh housing so long as they structure their income to be below limits
It appears there a lot of abuse in this system which is tolerated because there is a horror of anyone going hungry in this country. But waste, fraud & abuse is perhaps more egregious in this context.
All of our “helping” programs need some fresh evaluation.
So explain 'food pantries'....it seems like very town around us has one or more and they are constantly asking for food - who runs these? are they government funded? are they a part of SNAP...one would think that famine was just around the corner with all these urgent demands for food...
When on food stamps > 50 years ago, we had to buy them. The food stamp voucher would arrive 2x per month with the welfare check. The transaction was completed at the bank. We'd pay $21 from the check to buy $42 in stamps. I can't clearly remember, but I think it was during the Carter administration that we didn't have to buy the food stamps...they were free.
It might also be worth noting that the rate of recovery of improper payments is quite low. It is the responsibility of the states, and most of the errors are thought to be state agency errors in determining and verifying eligibility. (Mercatus Institute, George Mason University, 2025.)
Thank you so much for these deep dives!! I always learn so much more than I knew. And I think it helps if people understand what is going on behind the curtains. Again thank you. My money is well spent on this journalism.
"...meaning either that the payments were too high, too low, or shouldn’t have been received at all." Is this $10.5B of "improper" payouts not broken down into more transparent accounting? It would help me formulate my opinion on the meaningfulness of this administrations focus on trying to root out fraud. I guess I'm predisposed to let these things slide for the needy and focus more on corporate largess (socialism) and military contract waste, as the dollar amount might be way higher.
A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money. The trends in poverty and SNAP expenditures track, but I find it interesting that the SNAP curve crossed the poverty curve relatively recently. What was that all about?
I checked out the percentages of improper payments for SNAP, SS & Medicaid. (With the GAO report for SNAP and AI for SS & Medicaid.) The 11.5% of improper SNAP compares to less than 1% of SS (and that is mostly overpayments) and 5.09% for Medicaid.
I was shocked to learn from a furniture dealer in a low income area here in NC that EBT cards were often traded to make furniture purchases. I have never observed any cashier check a SNAP card with an ID.
When there is an eligible person in the household is the amount of assistance calculated based on the eligible person or on the number in the household who share food? According to an AI search one in five children--20% of children living in the U.S.--receive SNAP benefits. Something about a poverty rate of 12% compared to that 20% seems off.
There is no asset test in Massachusetts. One can have significant liquid assets and live in very posh housing so long as they structure their income to be below limits
It appears there a lot of abuse in this system which is tolerated because there is a horror of anyone going hungry in this country. But waste, fraud & abuse is perhaps more egregious in this context.
All of our “helping” programs need some fresh evaluation.
Who are your readers that you have to explain this?
This is very helpful. Military families are also affected by this system--it's complicated for them because of the odd way members are paid, with a mix of basic pay and various allowances. Veternas, too, as you point out, will be massively affected by these new rules. https://www.military.com/daily-news/headlines/2025/10/29/military-families-prepare-empty-fridges.html
So explain 'food pantries'....it seems like very town around us has one or more and they are constantly asking for food - who runs these? are they government funded? are they a part of SNAP...one would think that famine was just around the corner with all these urgent demands for food...
…and to think that the USA has one of the highest obesity rates in the world…figure that in…
Aloha. From the COCONUT WIRELESS. ..................................................................................
When on food stamps > 50 years ago, we had to buy them. The food stamp voucher would arrive 2x per month with the welfare check. The transaction was completed at the bank. We'd pay $21 from the check to buy $42 in stamps. I can't clearly remember, but I think it was during the Carter administration that we didn't have to buy the food stamps...they were free.
Excellent! At least the country makes an attempt, and so do a number of our countrymen to take advantage of it. Such is human nature.
It might also be worth noting that the rate of recovery of improper payments is quite low. It is the responsibility of the states, and most of the errors are thought to be state agency errors in determining and verifying eligibility. (Mercatus Institute, George Mason University, 2025.)
Thank you