How to Fix Food Stamps? Wall Street Journal Looks to GCO’s Research for Answers
In “The Case for Fixing Food Stamps,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board considers the federal budget debate on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
They reference research published jointly by GCO and the American Enterprise Institute, which suggests how Congress can work more effectively with states to administer SNAP and get rid of program flaws that discourage work and upward mobility.
“But the food stamp dysfunction runs deeper. States manage the program but the feds pick up 100% of the benefits tab, which means states have an incentive to draw down more federal dollars. No wonder the program’s improper payment figure is north of 10%, according to Agriculture Department data.
Multiple policy analysts have proposals giving states a stake in the program, and President Trump’s 2018 budget included a version of the idea. Congress can ask states to pick up 10% of the benefits tab the first year, then 15% and perhaps eventually 25%. EPIC, the think tank, estimates the feds could save $250 billion over 10 years by phasing in a state share to 50%.
Governors of both parties won’t like a policy change that asks more of them. But states showed in the 1990s, after the federal welfare reform, that they could manage case loads and help people find their footing back into the private economy.
SNAP could use further reform because it discourages additional hours of work as recipients earn more income and lose benefits.”