Food stamp work requirements reimposed in parts of New Mexico: “advocacy groups freak out”

For over a decade New Mexico has received a waiver from the federal government that has allowed able-bodied adults without children to continue receiving food stamps (SNAP benefits) whether they worked or not. Due to falling unemployment rates in some areas, residents of Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Eddy and Los Alamos counties along with San Ildefonso, Pojoaque, Santa Clara and Laguna pueblos will no longer be exempted from the requirement that people who are 18 and 54 years old, single and don’t have dependents now have to prove they’re working at least 80 hours a month to keep getting SNAP benefits.

Getting people to enter the work force when they are of prime working age and don’t have kids and are living in an area of the state that has low unemployment is as minimal a requirement as one can imagine for the 11,939 who fit into the categories outlined above. Nonetheless, left-wing activist are opposed to even this work requirement.

As the Rio Grande Foundation and LFC have noted, New Mexico has a poor workforce participation rate. Getting New Mexicans to work would go a long way to solving many of our State’s most serious problems. It is simply outrageous that able-bodied working age adults without children are not expected to work a mere 80 hours a month to receive SNAP benefits (regardless of where they live).