Conservative pundit Star Parker appeared on “Fox & Friends” this week, where she lauded President Donald Trump‘s plans to tighten work requirements for some food stamp recipients she claimed were too busy “watching porn” to work.
Parker, founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, argued that electronic EBT cards, on which federal benefits are distributed, have eliminated the “stigma” around being on government assistance.
Star Parker said federal benefits distributed via EBT swipe cards have removed the “stigma” around receiving government assistance. (Fox News / video screenshot)
The old food stamp vouchers “had this stigma about them, so people would not want to be on, even if they qualify,” she told the hosts. “But now it’s like an EBT swipe card, it’s a debit card. So they’ve taken the shame out of it. The next thing you know, you have an economic crash.”
Formally known as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, food stamps are one of the nation’s largest safety net programs and assist more than 20 million households across the United States. In 2017 alone, an estimated 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits, a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report showed. The average benefit per recipient was about $125.
Trump is seeking to “restore integrity in SNAP,” however, by requiring able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) to have a steady job or be part of a job training program if they receive food stamps for more than three months in a three-year time span. Parker has been a staunch supporter of the president and his policies, and insists the change is only meant to push Americans toward self-sufficiency.
“What the Trump administration is saying is, come on guys, the economy’s doing good,” she said. “Why are you still sitting around? People here in Washington … what they are calling them now are watchers,” she said.
Parker added: “These guys aren’t working. They’re watching. They’re watching porn, they are watching TV, they’re watching women, they’re watching everything, but they are not working. And this is what this initiative is attempting to do, is to get them back into their own lives so that they can prosper.”
If implemented, the new rule would see nearly 755,000 Americans lose their SNAP benefits, according to Quartz. A recent report from the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showed that Trump’s core constituency — single, white males — would actually be the hardest hit.
According to the data, 55 percent of of low-income ABAWDs are male, and 48 percent are white. African-Americans account for 35 percent of ABAWDs while Latinos comprise just 13 percent.
“Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch,” U.S Department of Agriculture chief Sonny Perdue said in a press release last month announcing the new rules. “That’s the commitment behind SNAP. But like other federal welfare programs, it was never intended to be a way of life.”
Watch more in the video below.
Fox News guest claims that food stamp recipients are too busy "watching porn" to get a job, which is why they're still on public assistance. (h/t @CourtneyHagle) pic.twitter.com/RQV8MVJoMe
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) January 2, 2019
