A Chance To Really End Welfare As We Know It

Welfare Reform: Thanks to a revived economy spinning out jobs, the number of people on food stamps dropped by 2 million people last year, according to a new report. That's great news, both for those who are leaving food stamps and for taxpayers. And more can — and should — be done. Those who get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits declined from 44.219 million in 2016 to 42.182 million by the end of last year, a drop of just over 2 million or about 4.6% in one year, the Washington Free Beacon reports. In a back of the envelope calculation, the Beacon estimates the decline will save U.S. taxpayers around $3 billion a year. This is a good start, the result more than anything of good economic policies such as tax cuts and deregulation that make it easier for businesses to hire and for those using welfare services to go back to work. No question, we have economic tailwinds at our back. With this, comes the possibility of bigger, structural reforms to welfare.