You can learn a lot from reading the newspaper. I subscribe to three: the New York Times, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle and the Finger Lakes Times. Lately the news has been full of Republican accusations of fraud in Democratic run states. They seem particularly concerned about fraud in the states’ implementation of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) , what those of us over 50 used to call Food Stamps.

Prior to the second Trump regime, 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits. So far 5 million of our fellow citizens (1.5 million of them children) have lost their benefits. As far as I can tell, those 5 million folks have not suddenly become wealthy, nor have their local groceries drastically reduced the prices of food.

About 80% of those who receive SNAP benefits are children, the elderly and people with disabilities that prevent them from working. Of the 20% who are work age and able, a full 80% work for part or all of the year. A family with a net income of $3,482 a month is entitled to $24 a month in SNAP benefits. If the family’s income goes down to zero they would get the maximum benefit — $998 a month. The average benefit is $332/month for a family of four. That’s for a family with a monthly net income of about $2,000/ month. Try feeding a family of four on that.

The rate of fraudulent SNAP claims is........

© Finger Lakes Times