By Pia

Traversing through narrow European streets, men and women are seen crouching over, picking up trash from parks. Who are these people?  In Lithuania, when public assistance is received, the recipient must perform work duties in return. When a country that is a fraction of the size of the United States can organize such a system, why have we not?

The House passed a spending bill that would cut Health Funds, triggering chaos and an uproar amongst people everywhere. The persuasive power of statistics could not be more apt for such a situation, highlighting the validity behind the noted phrase “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Yes, it is true that the vote came two weeks after the Agriculture Department stated that at some point in 2012, 17.6 million households in the United States did not have enough to eat. Yes, it is also true that the vote came two days after the Census Bureau reported that 15 percent of Americans (46.5 million people) live in poverty. It has been made aware that the passed bill would cut federal food stamps, casting away 3.8 million Americans from the program in 2014.

            The slightest hint of compassion in an individual would spark a feeling of injustice and deem this decision as an “insult to the poor,” where not only starvation and death are inevitable, but so is an increase in crime rates. However, what is actually happening is not the preconceived and misunderstood notion of an attack being sprung upon the poor; it is not the ghost of Marie Antoinette haunting us with her famous “let them eat cake.” It is the House of Republicans reworking the safety net, which simultaneously is unraveling our social and societal threads.

            Tangled in the emotional strings of liberalism, many responses to the decision failed to include the requirements of food stamps recipients. For example, able-bodied adults between 16-60, with some exceptions, must register for work, accept suitable employment, and take part in an employment-training program. Furthermore, recipients must pass a drug test. According to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, this encourages healthier and more proactive decisions. In 1996, a Republican Congress worked with Bill Clinton to overhaul the workfare program in this country and institute a workfare requirement, which is what this current pass seeks. It does not demand having a job, but a willingness to work or give back to the community.

            The amount spent on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) drastically increased to $85b in 2012 from $50b in 2008, a 75-80% increase in spending for the program in a 5-year. At the same time, however, this administration noted that there was an incredible improvement in the economy, with a decrease in unemployment from 10% to 7.3% and no inflation. While it never seems justifiable to deny basic human rights and sustenance, perhaps a $38b cut will go back to how it functioned in the 1990s, when there was no strong argument for an increase in the program. What we should be more concerned about is where this money is going rather than agreeing that preventing food is cruel, inhumane, and all an attack upon the poor.