Requiring able-bodied people to work in exchange for government benefits is a popular idea. It’s a proven way to reduce dependency and break the cycle of poverty. And in the case of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — what used to be called food stamps — it’s also the law.
So why are so few SNAP recipients gainfully employed? Because the laws in question are complex, permissive, and inconsistently enforced.
For starters, there are actually two different work requirements — and neither really reflects the commonly accepted definitions of “work” and “requirement.” Under current federal law, childless able-bodied recipients under 50 must spend at least 20 hours a week either working, receiving job training, or volunteering. (The age cap is scheduled to rise to 54 over the next few years.) For other SNAP recipients who aren’t already working at least 30 hours a week and are below the age of 59 (including parents whose children are older than five) they are required to participate in an employment-and-training program if their state assigns them to one.
In practice, few SNAP recipients are consistently employed in full-time jobs. Angela Rachidi, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, has carefully studied the data from federal surveys. She found that “the overwhelming majority” of SNAP-recipient households contain no workers at all. Among those that do contain workers, most work only part-time and only part of each year. Just 6%...
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