In a moment of absolute ignorance, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence declared in an interview with Fox News that he plans to "ennoble" approximately 65,000 people by denying them food stamps.
To provide a Reader's Digest version of the issue, which Pence seems to find adequate: The federal government mandates that after three months on food stamps, able-bodied childless adults must work for at least 20 hours a week or attend some sort of job training program to receive their food stamps. In cases of recession, with high rates of unemployment the government allows people to get their stamps for more than three months.
As of now the economy hasn’t fully recovered, but Pence believes the benefits should be stripped away, despite explaining to Fox News that he’s “someone who believes there’s nothing more ennobling to a person than a job.”
It’s fairly easy to see Pence’s logic: the legislation would pressure people who are simply trying to reap the benefits of the program to actually work.
The problem with his ideology is that he oversimplifies a very complicated issue. That’s most likely due to the fact that Pence, the epitome of the “privileged white male” archetype, never actually had to live in poverty.
Unfortunately for Pence, food stamp fraud is not even an issue. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, such fraud is down to about 1.3 percent. That’s right, it’s a nonexistent problem. About 99 percent of people who utilize food stamps genuinely need them. Sure there’s going to be that tiny percentage to takes advantage of that kind of stuff, but what the proposed legislation would really be doing would be apply pressure on the wrong people.
Even then, the Indiana unemployment rate is around 5.8 percent so there really there aren’t even enough jobs to “ennoble” the poorer population with in the first place. Maybe Pence should get on that before he decides it’s a good idea to take away major necessities.
I too believe that there nothing more ennobling than to starve due to a politician’s obvious ignorance. I mean, what drives you to frantically search for jobs more than starvation? Probably nothing.
Unfortunately Indiana isn’t the only one jumping in on these cuts. Previous states such as New Mexico, Maine and Kansas also cut tens of thousands of people’s access to food stamps.
And if we’re talking about ennobling people and freeing them from government aid, maybe we should talk about Pence’s relationship with corporations.
In March, Pence signed a law slashing corporate income taxes from 6.5 percent to 4.9 percent by 2021, making Indiana taxes the second-lowest in the country. It would certainly be a generous thing to free them from the burden of government aid. Wouldn’t it be ennobling to allow corporations to stand on their own two feet just like the people who, due to their own life situations, find themselves unemployed and in poverty?
Perhaps we should readjust our focus and see what the real problem is here. Food stamps actually provide a needed service: helping people get back on their feet. Cutting these programs isn’t combating the problem, it’s creating it.
Reach the columnist at mjanetsk@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @meganjanetsky
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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