With inflation rates, Americans face increasing prices on virtually everything. This impacts those who rely on government assistance for resources.

According to Feeding America, one in seven people in Arkansas face hunger. Additionally, one in five children in Arkansas face hunger. 

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other Arkansas lawmakers oppose Arkansas Senate Bill 306, which would adjust the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for inflation. Republican senator Jonathan Dismang of Searcy introduced the bill, and it passed in the Senate March 16. It is still being discussed in the House. If it passes in the House, it will need to be signed by Sanders in order to become law. 

The bill would amend asset limits, allow the limits to be adjusted according to inflation and enact automatic inflation adjustments that would occur every two years.

Those that oppose the bill believe providing government assistance to low-income individuals creates a dependency on the system. 

According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Alexa Henning, Sanders’ spokeswoman, said, “We oppose expanding welfare and trapping more people in lifetime dependency that is paid for by the labor of hardworking taxpayers.”

This statement openly criticizes the people who need government assistance by implying none of them work hard. It also suggests removing these benefits from those that use them would free them from a trap, when in reality, it could drive so many Arkansans into poverty and hunger. 

We cannot expect drowning people to save themselves. 

Additionally, this statement claims taxpayers who do not receive SNAP assistance will be negatively impacted by the passing of this bill. However, according to Feeding America, every dollar a household redeems through SNAP assistance generates an estimated $1.70 in economic activity. This means the economy is strengthened by government assistance, not weakened. 

This idea that those utilizing SNAP would do better without it implies they are taking advantage of the system. 

I honestly do not care if people abuse the system. In fact, I do not care if most people abuse the system if it means struggling people do not have to starve. 

I happen to know a lot of people who rely on government assistance in order to live. When I hear about bills like this, I picture real faces. 

I think about the family with 13 kids. I think about the woman with physical and mental disabilities that make it impossible for her to work. I think about the single mother whose job does not provide enough to make ends meet. I think of actual human lives that will be impacted if this bill does not pass.

Even if some people take advantage of the system or are “trapped” in it, I do not think their children who have no control over their situation should pay for those transgressions. I do not think the needy and the hurting should suffer because of the rare instances of SNAP fraud. 

Arkansas needs this bill to pass. We have hungry people who deserve food on their tables. 

I know there are people who take advantage of government assistance. However, I think the lawmakers of Arkansas should care more about feeding their hungry.

Categories: Opinion