SNAP. While everyone is screaming from the Faulty Tower about no more SNAP money as of November 1, no one seems concerned that 42 million Americans are on food assistance. As in the economy is so good that people can’t afford food in America… Imagine if the Federal Government said no more social security payments as of November 1… While still paying Congress to do absolutely nothing.
SNAP, like every other government subsidy is at risk for fraud. With 12.5% of the US population receiving benefits, and the requirement that those recipients must be employed, it is reflective of the disparity of wealth in our country. A disparity that isn’t about middle class vs the elite, but that poverty rate extends to individuals who have a college degree. But even that isn’t the whole story. Despite SNAP having the requirement of working, only 38% of recipients meet that quota.
While the USDA administers the SNAP program, each state is responsible for maintaining appropriate controls. And obviously those controls are out of whack when 62% of the recipients are unemployed. There are 16 different food programs including SNAP. There are 72 million Americans on Medicaid – 20%. And yet, those numbers are skewed because they are based on the last Census which included illegals.
The USDA comes under the directorate of the Department of Agriculture which has subheadings for different federal departments and a Director for every state. There are Directors, directing other Directors, somewhat like a Pyramid Schematic. The Secretary appointed by Trump is Brooke Rollins. Rollins resume: Having earned a law degree, Rollins worked for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a think tank which advocated for the end of agriculture subsidies.
Rollins has no agriculture experience. Why an attorney would be deemed an appropriate Director would seem rather inane. The duties of the Secretary of Agriculture are stipulated to be: A position responsible for overseeing policies related to food, farming, conservation, and rural development. Their duties include supporting farmers and ranchers, ensuring food safety, protecting natural resources, and working to end hunger both domestically and internationally. Rollin’s education and background don’t even touch on this level of acumen.
Agricultural subsidies are government payments and incentives to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement income, manage supply, and mitigate risks. Common forms include direct payments, crop insurance, disaster aid, and programs that support specific crops like corn and soybeans. The vast majority of these subsidies go to a few large producers aggregating roughly $11 Billion. The Federal cost of SNAP is over $100 Billion annually averaging roughly $200 per month per individual.
It is estimated that fraud costs SNAP roughly $25 Billion annually or 25% of the total cost to Taxpayers. Given the individual states manage the approval process of applications for SNAP, states should be accountable for auditing their programs. But states don’t dedicate employees to SNAP so they have no idea how many employees consume the funds. Instead, states claim oversight is thru the Feds and the Feds say oversight is thru the states. A Boondoggle!
For Example: California claims to fund 5.5 million people on SNAP yet they don’t have a dedicated office of employees who approve applications, and instead claim administration is thru the state government workforce which includes 200,000 full time workers. This failure would account for the 25% overall fraud that is lost. And employees are likely accomplices to the crime justifying it is federal money.
Yet still there is a federal dedicated Director for every state. So exactly what do they do? In Colorado there are 14 Directors and Assistant Directors working in the Department of Human Services. According to their own estimates, the Colorado Department of HS has between 5,000 and 10,000 employees – they don’t really know. California is similar, their estimates claim ‘more than – 30,000’ employees. How can a Department not know how many employees they have? How many are on the payroll? How many part-time?
The corruption becomes even more obvious at every level of drilling through the ‘unknowns’, the acceptance of a 25% fraud deviation, all at the expense of American hard-working Taxpayers who dutifully pay criminals without any reparation. No consequence. Illegal ramifications wiped. No one ever takes responsibility for the fraud. And of course PENSIONS for every single state and federal government worker which pay 5 to 10 times the average Social Security payment.
