Visit any social media comments page discussing the potential upcoming loss of SNAP government assistance benefits this Saturday (Nov. 1) thanks to the ongoing government shutdown, and you’ll see the MAGA faithful condemning “lazy, shiftless” Black folks who need to “get a job” instead of mooching off of hard-working (white) taxpayers. It’s a tune that’ll never stop playing.
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But when we consider which demographic will suffer the most from the SNAP cutoff, there’s an inconvenient truth that the red hat wearers probably aren’t ready to hear.
Approximately 42 million Americans will not receive these benefits, but let’s get clear about what this means. SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal program that provides low-income households with monthly benefits to help them buy food. Benefits are loaded onto an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which can be used at stores and farmers’ markets…essentially anywhere you can buy food.
And here’s the thing. It’s not just Democrats that will be impacted by this. Nor is it just Black folks. Americans of every race and political persuasion will be affected. But despite Reagan going on about welfare queens and attempting to make it look like Black folks were the only ones who used these benefits, the reality of who this will impact the most may surprise you.
White Americans are the largest racial group participating in the SNAP program. In fact, over 35% of the people on the program are white. What’s more, Texas, Louisiana and Florida, all red states, have some of the highest numbers of people living there who rely on the SNAP program.
Look, President Trump can blame Democrats as much as he wants for this shutdown, but the fact of the matter is that the Republicans are in control of every branch of Government. The House, the Senate the Presidency—they control it all.
So, the shutdown is on them. Full stop. It is their responsibility to make a deal that would keep the government open and they have failed to do so. As a result, they will take food off the tables of the very people who voted them into office. And unlike last month where President Trump was able to find money to pay the military, the administration warned lawmakers in a memo Friday it could not and would not seek access to a range of emergency funds to extend SNAP. That is cold. Even for them.
Just in time for the holidays, the most vulnerable among us will lose their ability to feed their families. This is not a political issue. It is a question of human decency.
Straight From 
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