Governments do not make a people more virtuous, more compassionate, more successful in fulfilling God’s Law. Rather, governments make a people less virtuous, less compassionate, and less likely to even attempt to fulfill God’s Law.
The program was designed to help Americans get by that had truly fallen on hard times, but it has morphed into a system that is exploited by many entitled and worthless persons that live completely on the backs of the American taxpayer. This has been made abundantly clear by the videos and statistics floating around on X. What has also been made abundantly clear, is that many people receiving these benefits are not even Americans but the hoards of illegals that flooded this country under the last administration. The program must be allowed to fail or must be significantly cut back so something rational and sustainable can take its place. Let's also not forget this scripture that must be balanced with your sentiment: Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
There are an abundance of criticisms to be made of SNAP and of the welfare state in general.
What people should understand is that to the extent that we tolerate corruption, politicization, and bureaucratic indifference in such programs, we are definitionally ignoring the needs of the very people the programs aim to serve. The person who exploits the system for gain is taking from those who need, and we are ignoring those in need if we allow corruption to occur.
Morally, neither is okay.
What people should also understand is that there is a substantial difference between reducing/reforming SNAP or even eliminating it and simply failing to fund SNAP. The first is an overdue task Congress needs to address, but the second is the government simply failing to honor a pledge that is given.
Morally, that is also not okay.
Whether every SNAP recipient is truly in need of assistance is problematic. What is not problematic is that government has pledged assistance to every SNAP recipient. Government needs to honor that pledge.
I get what you're saying Peter, but we must at some point soon move beyond morality arguments and face the current reality of the situation: the federal government has made pledges that it cannot possibly make good on. Pain and suffering is inevitable. The longer these programs are allowed to continue business as usual, the greater and more severe the suffering that will result for the masses. The federal government and these programs must be allowed to shrink, so that the church and local organizations may rise and up to meet the needs that ought to be met, and rebuke the lazy and foolish that need to be rebuked.
So how will political reform be achieved and personal behaviors be forced to change without pressure? The pressure is necessary to expose the fraud and abuse that leads to systematic reform, and the pain and suffering is necessary to correct personal behaviors. The demands that led to the shutdown are more than just mere squabbling over politics. Schumer and crew are demanding more insane spending... the insane spending has to end.
We're only a few days into this. It's going to take some time for the fraud and abuse to become mainstream. You and I consume facts and figures religiously by our nature, but that's not the average American. I fully agree with you that SNAP and other welfare programs should be taken out of the hands of the government. My genuine question is how do we get there before full systemic collapse that has long-reaching and longstanding effects for an entire generation?
I completely agree with you, Peter. Our government has deeply failed the very people it is meant to serve, especially the working class and the poor. I really appreciated how you tied this to the hardening of America’s heart and our growing distance from God. Over the past few decades, we have watched our nation drift further from the Christian foundation that once guided its compassion and sense of duty.
As you beautifully reminded us, we are called to feed the hungry and not be grudging toward the poor. It is heartbreaking and unjust that the government would delay SNAP benefits that so many families rely on to simply eat. Yet it is also clear that our leaders lack both generosity and humility.
Reform is deeply needed, not only to root out corruption within government but also to restore integrity and fairness in how assistance is distributed. We are called to care for those in need, but as a nation, we must also act wisely and responsibly. How can we truly help others when we cannot even provide for our own people?
It is painful to see billions lost to fraud and misuse, including funds going to those who are not citizens, particularly undocumented individuals, while hardworking Americans struggle to feed their families. True compassion means stewardship, ensuring that the resources meant for the needy actually reach them. We need a return to both moral leadership and practical reform so that no American family goes hungry.
And this is why it’s so important to have a society full of caring, compassionate individuals. We should all be giving from the heart. Each one of us needs to be caring, in order to have a caring civilization. Socialism takes by force, and the redistribution of wealth happens with resentment, corruption, and uncaring. Government is the problem, not the solution. Charity from the heart is the solution.
But here we enter into the problem area: individuals tend to be more than a bit selfish. They care about their own wellbeing, and that of their family members, more than they care about the wellbeing of strangers. Will that ever change? The only route I see is if they embrace the teachings of Jesus and love thy neighbor as you love yourself. Unfortunately, society has not been moving in that direction. I hope that the younger generations will find the solution that Jesus offers.
"But here we enter into the problem area: individuals tend to be more than a bit selfish."
This is true. People are often prone to be hard-hearted and lacking in genuine compassion for their brother.
That does not make delegating our duty to our brother to even more hard-hearted and dispassionate government appropriate or defensible. If it is wrong for us as people to harden our hearts against the poor and the needy, how much greater the wrong to let government act in our stead.
We must reiterate one message again and again, and that is the warning of the First Book of Samuel: government will be cruel. Government will be callous. Government will be indifferent to the suffering in people's lives.
The present shutdown lunacy proves this in abundance.
The program was designed to help Americans get by that had truly fallen on hard times, but it has morphed into a system that is exploited by many entitled and worthless persons that live completely on the backs of the American taxpayer. This has been made abundantly clear by the videos and statistics floating around on X. What has also been made abundantly clear, is that many people receiving these benefits are not even Americans but the hoards of illegals that flooded this country under the last administration. The program must be allowed to fail or must be significantly cut back so something rational and sustainable can take its place. Let's also not forget this scripture that must be balanced with your sentiment: Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
There are an abundance of criticisms to be made of SNAP and of the welfare state in general.
What people should understand is that to the extent that we tolerate corruption, politicization, and bureaucratic indifference in such programs, we are definitionally ignoring the needs of the very people the programs aim to serve. The person who exploits the system for gain is taking from those who need, and we are ignoring those in need if we allow corruption to occur.
Morally, neither is okay.
What people should also understand is that there is a substantial difference between reducing/reforming SNAP or even eliminating it and simply failing to fund SNAP. The first is an overdue task Congress needs to address, but the second is the government simply failing to honor a pledge that is given.
Morally, that is also not okay.
Whether every SNAP recipient is truly in need of assistance is problematic. What is not problematic is that government has pledged assistance to every SNAP recipient. Government needs to honor that pledge.
I get what you're saying Peter, but we must at some point soon move beyond morality arguments and face the current reality of the situation: the federal government has made pledges that it cannot possibly make good on. Pain and suffering is inevitable. The longer these programs are allowed to continue business as usual, the greater and more severe the suffering that will result for the masses. The federal government and these programs must be allowed to shrink, so that the church and local organizations may rise and up to meet the needs that ought to be met, and rebuke the lazy and foolish that need to be rebuked.
I invite you to reread what I have written.
I am calling for SNAP and similar programs to be taken out of the hands of government.
However, simply leaving SNAP as is and unfunded because of the shutdown is not a defensible proposition.
That's not reforming SNAP, or even ending SNAP. That's just leaving people in limbo while Democrats and Republicans squabble over politics.
So how will political reform be achieved and personal behaviors be forced to change without pressure? The pressure is necessary to expose the fraud and abuse that leads to systematic reform, and the pain and suffering is necessary to correct personal behaviors. The demands that led to the shutdown are more than just mere squabbling over politics. Schumer and crew are demanding more insane spending... the insane spending has to end.
What pressure is being applied to change SNAP right now? None.
We're only a few days into this. It's going to take some time for the fraud and abuse to become mainstream. You and I consume facts and figures religiously by our nature, but that's not the average American. I fully agree with you that SNAP and other welfare programs should be taken out of the hands of the government. My genuine question is how do we get there before full systemic collapse that has long-reaching and longstanding effects for an entire generation?
I completely agree with you, Peter. Our government has deeply failed the very people it is meant to serve, especially the working class and the poor. I really appreciated how you tied this to the hardening of America’s heart and our growing distance from God. Over the past few decades, we have watched our nation drift further from the Christian foundation that once guided its compassion and sense of duty.
As you beautifully reminded us, we are called to feed the hungry and not be grudging toward the poor. It is heartbreaking and unjust that the government would delay SNAP benefits that so many families rely on to simply eat. Yet it is also clear that our leaders lack both generosity and humility.
Reform is deeply needed, not only to root out corruption within government but also to restore integrity and fairness in how assistance is distributed. We are called to care for those in need, but as a nation, we must also act wisely and responsibly. How can we truly help others when we cannot even provide for our own people?
It is painful to see billions lost to fraud and misuse, including funds going to those who are not citizens, particularly undocumented individuals, while hardworking Americans struggle to feed their families. True compassion means stewardship, ensuring that the resources meant for the needy actually reach them. We need a return to both moral leadership and practical reform so that no American family goes hungry.
Extremely well-said, Peter, and 100% true.
And this is why it’s so important to have a society full of caring, compassionate individuals. We should all be giving from the heart. Each one of us needs to be caring, in order to have a caring civilization. Socialism takes by force, and the redistribution of wealth happens with resentment, corruption, and uncaring. Government is the problem, not the solution. Charity from the heart is the solution.
But here we enter into the problem area: individuals tend to be more than a bit selfish. They care about their own wellbeing, and that of their family members, more than they care about the wellbeing of strangers. Will that ever change? The only route I see is if they embrace the teachings of Jesus and love thy neighbor as you love yourself. Unfortunately, society has not been moving in that direction. I hope that the younger generations will find the solution that Jesus offers.
"But here we enter into the problem area: individuals tend to be more than a bit selfish."
This is true. People are often prone to be hard-hearted and lacking in genuine compassion for their brother.
That does not make delegating our duty to our brother to even more hard-hearted and dispassionate government appropriate or defensible. If it is wrong for us as people to harden our hearts against the poor and the needy, how much greater the wrong to let government act in our stead.
We must reiterate one message again and again, and that is the warning of the First Book of Samuel: government will be cruel. Government will be callous. Government will be indifferent to the suffering in people's lives.
The present shutdown lunacy proves this in abundance.