The Strange Link Between Obamacare and Food Stamps

Ever since Obamacare has been implemented, food stamp usage has increased, seemingly disconnected from the “improving” economy:

In most affected states, the enrollment increases were not huge, ranging from 1 percent to 6 percent over two years, according to an Associated Press analysis. The sole exception was Nevada, where enrollment shot up 14 percent.

The enrollment is climbing as Republicans try to cut the costs of the food program and at a time when food-stamp usage would normally be expected to decline. Eligibility rules have not changed.

West Virginia’s food-stamp enrollment increased 4 percent after a Medicaid expansion that was part of the health care changes. Enrollment jumped because people were “more engaged with our systems and more aware what they’re eligible for,” said Jeremiah Samples of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.

So Obamacare forces people to engage with the welfare system in at least one way, and some of those people are dipping into other welfare services while they’re there. Because why not?

Everyone knew Obamacare was going to be more expensive than anyone had predicted. But not even the most diehard opponent of Obamacare foresaw this. People would have said we were grasping at straws if we had predicted an up-tick in welfare enrollment correlated to Obamacare. Yet that is just what is happening.

So what’s the solution? The solution is obvious. Get the civil government out of the welfare business. They are really terrible at it. By that, I mean that they are really terrible at actually helping people. They are very adept at finding new ways to give “support” to people who would probably be better off without it in the long-term.

There probably isn’t a chance of abolishing Obamacare at this point. Everyone points to how well it’s working. No one seems to care that we can’t afford it. Well at least we’ll be able to eat some freshly minted food stamps when the economy collapses.

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