Government Does Something Right

The federal government has done something so simple and so imminently smart that I think it may well get praise from both the left and the right. It should anyway.

As we know, this country is in the depths of a serious recession (regardless of what the pundits say) that has cost us well over 8 million jobs, and these jobs might not come back for a long time. This loss of millions of jobs has placed Americans in serious need of help (many of them for the first time in their lives). People who were working and paying taxes and supporting their families, suddenly find in many instances that they can no longer even feed their families.

It has become so bad that workers at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) just can't keep up with all the applications for food stamps. There was a backlog of 42,000 applications not long ago. Through much hard work and the addition of more employees, they have gotten that backlog down to 16,400 -- but that is still far too many.

Yesterday, the federal government issued waivers to allow food banks in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth to help the people in need that they serve to access the food stamp system. Their computers will be tied into the state computers of the THHSC. This will allow them to check and see if their clients are receiving food stamps, and if not, they will be able to complete the initial application process for them.

All final decisions on who receives food stamps will still be done by the state employees of the THHSC, but they will be able to do it much faster because the time-consuming initial application process will already be done. All they'll have to do is peruse it and make a decision.

This will have the effect of adding new personnel to the THHSC without actually doing so. And one of the best parts is that it won't cost the state or federal government anything (except for the minimal costs of hooking the food bank computers into the state system). That's important to a state that's already predicting a shortfall of funds in the next biennium and is cutting jobs in many state agencies.

It will also ease the backlog of cases and make it easier for applicants to apply for help. Many of these people need help for the first time and grudgingly go to the food bank, but are too embarrassed to go apply for food stamps (probably because of the stigma many politicians have put on it). The good people at the food bank can ease their fears and embarrassment and help guide them through the process.

I know there are many who think once a person gets on food stamps, that person stays on them forever. That is true only for a small portion of food stamp users (such as those with disabilities that prevent them from working and those who are too elderly and frail to work). The huge majority of food stamp recipients are only going to receive the food stamps for a limited period of time -- just long enough for them to get back on their feet.

If there's one thing that atheists like myself and religious people can agree on, it's that we are our brother's keeper. When our fellow men/women are in need, it is our obligation as humans to help them out. But it certainly helps when a solution can be found to help that process without adding further costs.

The food banks in these four cities are sort of a pilot program. If it works well in those cities, and I don't see why it wouldn't, then waivers could be issued for food banks in cities across the country.