One of the discussions I saw taking place on Social Media recently was due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. And its adverse affect on S.N.A.P. benefits. “Snap” benefits, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a Federal program in the United States that provides monthly grocery benefits to low income households to help them buy food.

This is a “Taxpayer funded” program.

So you can imagine what some of the comments on the threads looked like:

“If you can’t afford to feed your kids then STOP HAVING THEM!”

“It’s not MY responsibility to feed YOUR family!”

“My taxes ought not to pay for your bag of fudge rounds!”

“Life is hard enough without having to pay for lazy people!”

My question is: Why do you give a damn? 

Seriously.

Why do you give a damn how many kids someone has? You know how difficult it is to have kids and raise a family. It can be pretty tough. And the more kids a person has the more difficult it becomes. The sleepless nights, the endless worry. Keeping everyone fed is one thing, but keeping a roof over everyone’s head is a bit more challenging. And God forbid one of your kids have health issues. The medical bills alone will bury you. Then toss in a few extra baby daddies and you got the makings of a true hell on earth. 

People livin their life so broke their only source of solace from the shit hole situation they’re livin in is a bag of fudge rounds and they gotta sit and listen to your bullshit complain about it? Why you give a damn if they an 800lb hippo wearin flip flops and dressed in a speedo with threads under so much stress the only reason they ain’t broke is proof there is a God, and He ain’t about that much skin goin uncovered.

Lazy?

Do you have any damn idea how much work it takes to be poor?

It’s frickin exhausting. You wanna know why there is so much disfunction and societal instability with some people? It’s because living poor is frickin traumatic. It literally is living in a life that PRODUCES T R A U M A.

Imagine that. Living in a life that is so chaotic and unpredictable that it creates trauma events that you get to deal with.

Now I’m not sayin, that we ALL don’t experience things that are beyond our control and result in trauma. But when you are poor, those events tend to be much more frequent. And that absolutely has a direct affect on your ability to think, focus, and function at your best.

Which is why, nearly every self help book you’ll read that involves making money will talk about how free and clear your mind will be once you’ve made your first million, or whatever. Living in poverty is emotionally taxing.

So, once again, WHY do you give a damn? 

In Mark 14:7 it states, “The poor will always be with us”, or something to that effect. Jesus said that. Now obviously, He wasn’t sayin that to take a jab at people being poor and there are much better things for you to glean from that scripture than my use of it for this blog.

However, if you are going to recognize anything in regards to what it implies, understand this: There will always be a small percentage of society that CHOOSES to live in poverty. 

And there will be a vast amount more that won’t.

Because living in “poverty” in the U.S. IS a “choice”, for most people.

So, I do not care…

If someone is on government assistance or using SNAP benefits. If they are truly broke and need it, I sincerely hope it helps them. I have been down to my last $20 for the month and it suuuucks! So ya, I get it.

And I could give a shit if they spend the balance on their EBT card on junk food or cigarettes. You do realize their benefit doesn’t increase or decrease based on what they purchase, right? So if they want to spend the last $30 on their EBT card on food that is unhealthy or trade the balance for cigarettes, I don’t give a crap. Won’t that just end their life sooner? Which will make the drain they are on society be less, right? “Hey porky, how about another bag of those fudge rounds, on me!”

There are plenty of ways in the U.S. available for people to better themselves and to improve their situation. And if someone simply wants to live a life on the government dole, then I feel sorry for them.

And I rest easy knowing that the people that need the help are getting it, and the ones that are abusing it are living the life they deserve.

Because no one escapes the consequences of their choices. That much I know to be true.

Copyright©2025 Jacob C. Larson All Rights Reserved

***Yes, I am very well aware that the dynamics or poverty can be somewhat of a complex issue. I had no intention of minimizing it in this blog or necessarily poking fun at people who are using government assistance or SNAP benefits. Hopefully, it reads as quite the opposite. 

****I am also very well aware of the economic ramifications of having an increase of the percentage of the population in need of government assistance and the underlying question of sustainability, quality of life, etc. (Pleeease don’t message me with things to read or videos of stats to watch. I’ve read and watched them all already)

*****There are LOTS of things to discuss and worry about. How someone who is living in poverty spends their last $100 on their EBT card IS NOT one of them. Get over it. Get over yourself. Lazy?! HA! I have seen YOU at work, bitch. Don’t ever talk about bein lazy to anyone, ever, again.