Louisiana does not currently have work requirements to receive food stamps. Under welfare reforms passed in the 1990s, able-bodied adults are limited to three months of food stamps without working in a 3 year period. However, the Obama administration has allowed states to opt-out of those work requirements.
Alabama for awhile received opted out of work requirements, but they slowly brought them back. This year, Alabama restored work requirements statewide. The results show that food stamp enrollment has decreased by a lot.
From The Daily Signal:
Participation in the food stamp program plunged by 85 percent in 13 counties in Alabama after officials required that recipients must work, look for work, or get approved job training, a state agency says.
In those 13 counties, enrollment in food stamps dropped over four months from 5,538 able-bodied adults without dependents to 831 such recipients.
Statewide, a total of 13,663 able-bodied adults without children or other dependents were enrolled in the food stamp program before the change implemented Jan. 1, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources, the news site AL.com reported.
As of May 1, that statewide number had dropped to 7,483, the agency said.
This is good news for several reasons. The first reason is that taxpayers are spending less money.
The second reason is that it shows that more people are becoming self-reliant. The fundamental difference between conservatives and liberals is that the left wants more people enrolled in government programs. Whereas conservatives celebrate fewer enrolled on government assistance. It means that people are becoming more able to provide for themselves.
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Finally, there is a cultural aspect to food stamp enrollment that is often not talked about. There is a dignity that comes with being able to support yourself financially through your own labor. Whereas being enrolled on government assistance creates a culture of dependency.
The rest of the country should follow Alabama’s lead and bring back work requirements for food stamps.
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