The libertarian-conservative Republican commentator in California opines: "Whenever there is a government program, there will be more waste, fraud and abuse than you find in the private sector. What a shock. The real scandal is our tepid 2 percent growth in this fourth year of recovery. At 2 percent, the economy produces too few jobs to make a dent in the nearly 8 percent unemployment rate. Spending just on food stamps (now called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has gone from $37 billion in President George W. Bush's last year to over $78 billion for 2012, an increase of 210 percent."
Mr. Elder continues his commentary: "Compare this recovery to any recovery since World War II. Based on past performances, the economy should be generating twice the number of jobs and the gross domestic product should be growing much, much faster. Not only is unemployment still a high 8 percent, but the labor force participation rate is near a 30-year low. This means many able-bodied and able-minded work-age adults simply dropped out of the job market."
Larry Elder Op-Ed: The Food Stamp Economy
