Rumors are swirling amongst the state representatives and senators that the governor will call yet another special session in the coming days. Bill themes originally centered around gun legislation but have now shifted to social assistance programs to bolster those lapsing from the federal government due to the ongoing shutdown, namely the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
First, let’s discuss the fundamental issues I have with SNAP as a program. Our society is increasingly unhealthy. Obesity is a true epidemic and getting worse all the time, affecting younger people and more people all the time. Even as a teenager, I noticed that the canned vegetable aisle in Walmart was the narrowest aisle, which I found to be painfully ironic.
And SNAP does nothing to remediate society’s addiction to saturated fats and processed sugars – the snack-food aisle is fully covered under SNAP benefits – there is no incentive to eat healthier, and obesity is therefore subsidized by the government. The Women, Infants and Children program is better in that it provides basic ingredients for cooking healthier foods, with fewer preservatives and poor choices.
Of course, the news is inundated right now with SNAP-related hysteria in that the funding for it ran out Nov. 1 when Congress failed to pass a budget. Now, I will not condone a cold-turkey cancellation of the program as we’ve seen with this current situation, as too many people rely on it; it should be reprogramed to ensure healthier options are the only options.
The sheer number of participants (one in eight people in America) is alarming. Why is that? One side would have you believe it is predominantly illegal immigrants grifting off the taxpayer. The other side says it is all single parents, orphans and those that are disabled. The truth, of course, is in the middle… somewhere.
Now, New Mexico won’t recognize the nefariousness of the program and what it is doing to the participants. Instead, it has scrambled to insult and throw money at a problem it doesn’t wish to understand or perhaps fix. It reeks of keeping the people addicted to the thing that is killing them, in order to control them.
Fast foods are full of chemicals and cancer. The governor wishes to leave a legacy of public service, but New Mexico politicians have benefitted from the poor for decades – they would be incentivized to keep them that way. For example, New Mexico has the highest percentage of the population participating in SNAP, all while our state coffers are overflowing with black gold monies.
So instead of correcting the dependency long-term by providing sustainably healthy subsidies for approved participants with quantifiable approval metrics and finite participation durations, our elected leaders stand on boxes (literally and figuratively) and make a big show of saving their constituents by throwing a pittance of funds (enough to cover a few weeks of the program) to perpetuate indefinite dependency on cholesterol and carbohydrates.
Those that you rely on to feed you can also starve you. And poison you.
Shawna Pfeiffer is a life-long Dona Ana County Resident, graduate of NMSU, small business owner, hobby farmer, dog-lover, outdoor enthusiast and mother to two young children. She can be reached at srpfeiffer1@gmail.com.
