Introduction
An important role of the government is to assist its civilians when they are in need. One way through which the government fulfils this role is through food stamps. Food stamps are welfare benefits aimed at assisting low-income members of society in feeding themselves. This government program provides the needy citizen with a card that contains money that can be used to purchase food items. While the benefit of food stamps is unquestioned, there are calls for the state to impose tighter conditions for receiving food stamps as the economy improve. Such calls are made on the assumption that citizens will be able to earn enough money to purchase food without government assistance when the economy is doing well.
This paper argues that the state should tighten the conditions for receiving food stamps as the economy improves since citizens are able to make more money and engage in productive activities. In addition to this, tighter controls enable the government to save more money that can be used to provide social support when the economy is suffering.
A Case for Tightened Conditions
Tighter conditions should be imposed since citizens are able to earn more when the economy improves. The food stamp program is meant to supplement the low income earned by people, therefore enabling them to purchase food. When the economy improves, the income earned by individuals also increases, making it unnecessary for many people to rely on government support. Stricter conditions would ensure that citizens do not continue to rely on the government even after their income level rises to the level where they can support themselves.
Tightening conditions for receiving food stamps will boost the country’s economy by forcing civilians to utilize the available employment opportunities. When the economy improves, more jobs are available to people. However, some people fail to take advantage of these opportunities since they can rely on food stamps for their sustenance. Stringent conditions will ensure that such people are forced to take advantage of any job opportunities available to them. The entire country will, therefore, benefit from the larger workforce.
Finally, the government’s expenditure will reduce since the number of food stamp recipients will drop under tightened conditions. The food stamp program is funded by the government, and a lot of money is used when the number of recipients is high. By imposing strict conditions when the economy is favourable, the cost of the food stamp program will reduce. This will enable the government to save up more money that can be used to aid civilians when the economy is weak.
The argument against Tightened Control
Opponents of proposals to imposed tightened conditions argue that such measures would keep the needy from obtaining government aid. People who apply for food stamps are often low-income citizens who are unable to earn enough to feed themselves and their families. An improvement in the economy does not mean that these people will earn enough money or even get a job. By making it harder for people to obtain government support through food stamps, the tougher controls will cause many needy citizens to suffer from hunger. However, advocates of tighter controls assert that these measures will not lock out the truly needy. Instead, they will ensure that citizens who can provide for themselves do not burden the government by relying on food stamps.
Conclusion
This paper has argued that the State should tighten the conditions for receiving food stamps as the economy improves. It began by highlighting the importance of these social welfare benefits to low-income citizens. The paper then showed that as the economy improves, people do not need the government support as much, and the state should tighten conditions to limit the number of food stamp recipients.