Being Poor and on Food Stamps Sucks

This seemingly obvious truth gets forgotten in the culture war rhetoric that is so eager to put the burden on the allegedly shiftless poor (aka “Takers”) while overlooking the vastly greater entitlements of the rich and immensely powerful (aka “Makers”). This story (yes, I realize it’s from a ritually impure source and will give us all cooties if we read it, but humor me), makes that point rather well.

Are there lazy people? Yes. Are most people on food stamps happy to be there and content to remain there? No. That’s because being poor sucks and welfare does not really decrease the suck much. Paying jobs do that. Most people would prefer them.