The reality is that most SNAP recipients are not going to go to food banks or anything like that; they're just going to use their own money and buy groceries or McDonald's.
Now, what that means is that they'll have to spend less money on other things to buy groceries. Sometimes that's concerts and fancy clothes. Sometimes it's car repairs or the electric bill; depends on the person and their situation. People in tight financial situations are typically accustomed to getting behind on bills and borrowing money sometimes, and realistically in the short term changing their grocery habits is going to be a lot more of a pain than just spending money.
3 months from now in the unlikely scenario that SNAP hasn't been renewed that's a different story.
> The reality is that most SNAP recipients are not going to go to food banks or anything like that; they're just going to use their own money and buy groceries or McDonald's... Sometimes that's concerts and fancy clothes....
I'm sorry, it seems like maybe we have very different understandings of the concept of living paycheck to paycheck, while also relying on SNAP benefits. Non-white collar employees of both Amazon and Walmart do so regularly. There is no three month cushion for millions of Americans, there is not even a one week cushion for many.
I am not saying this as snark. I just don't think that 99% of us folks on this website live this reality, so it might seem impossible. Please help us get on the same page here. Maybe I am the one who is misunderstanding, but what you said sounds a lot like "fly-over state" type mentality, that somehow does not take into account the real struggle of millions of Americans. We have a lot of real poor people here, are you really telling them to "buy less concerts and fancy clothes??"
edit: Nvm. I don't want to make this a giant thread on this post, about if poor people exist or not. I will not reply further, as I just now realized that I got baited into politics. The actual reality is that millions of Americans will now be skipping even more meals. If you don't believe that they exist, then there is nothing I can do about that. Clearly you have never been hungry, and that is a level of naivete that I wish upon everyone.
Now, what that means is that they'll have to spend less money on other things to buy groceries. Sometimes that's concerts and fancy clothes. Sometimes it's car repairs or the electric bill; depends on the person and their situation. People in tight financial situations are typically accustomed to getting behind on bills and borrowing money sometimes, and realistically in the short term changing their grocery habits is going to be a lot more of a pain than just spending money.
3 months from now in the unlikely scenario that SNAP hasn't been renewed that's a different story.