Culture Watch: Welfare is Cool at “Food Stamp Friday” Party

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April 5, 2012 Welfare is Cool at “Food Stamp Friday” Party Apparently government assistance is the hip new thing. As The Daily Caller reports, “A nightclub in Montgomery, Ala. is raising eyebrows by hosting a ‘Food Stamp Friday’ party on April 6 that seems to glamorize life on the federal government’s food assistance program.” According to the article, patrons who present their food stamp cards at the door will pay a $5 cover charge to get into the Rose Supper Club in North Montgomery. And, as the invitation—which “mimics an Electronic Benefit Transfer card”—advertises “there will be ‘free shots at the door.’” Glamorizing government dependence disrespects those who fund welfare programs: U.S. taxpayers. It also disrespects recipients by completely distorting what the goal of any welfare program should be: to help individuals achieve independence from government assistance. Since 2008, funding for food stamps has doubled from just under $40 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2008 to nearly $83 billion in President Obama’s latest FY 2013 budget. The number of Americans participating in the program has also increased dramatically over the last several years and today stands at approximately 46 million Americans, or about 15 percent of the population. While participation rates have gone up more rapidly during the recession, the food stamp program was already one of the fastest-growing welfare programs prior to the economic downturn. The food stamp program is just one of about 10 different federal food assistance programs and one of approximately 70 federal means-tested welfare programs funded by taxpayers—at a cost of nearly $1 trillion a year. However, while taxpayers have been funding growing welfare costs for nearly five decades, these programs have done little to promote personal responsibility. The food stamp program, along with every other government welfare program—aside from the one reformed in 1996, which restructured the largest cash assistance welfare program—has no sound work requirement for its participants. What made the 1996 welfare reform successful was its rigorous work requirement, which resulted in millions leaving welfare for jobs. (Unfortunately, the reforms have been severely weakened in recent years.) Similar requirements should be included for the food stamp program, as well as other government assistance programs. Receiving government assistance should not be the “in” thing to do. Rather, welfare should truly assist those in need by promoting work and self-reliance. What are your thoughts on America's welfare state? Share your thoughts and interact with other Culture Watch readers online >>   Religious Individuals are More Likely to Volunteer Volunteerism among individuals who attend religious services each week tends to be greater than the national average, and among those who attend less frequently. Find out how religious practice can help maintain intact families, positively affect teen behavior, and help sustain civil society at FamilyFacts.org. Click here for the full chart   Religious Practice Alive and Well in America Blog Post by Sarah Torre Alabama Joins Fight Against the "Unconscionable" HHS Mandate Blog Post by Sarah Torre  // WATCH EXCLUSIVE EVENT NOW Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 Charles Murray gives insights from his New York Times bestseller, showing how the breakdown of the family puts America at risk  DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage established the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society in 2004 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the role religion, family, and civil society play in sustaining freedom and the common good. The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400 | heritage.org