https://www.texastribune.org/2025/10/28/texas-snap-benefits-cutoff-groceries-economy-government-shutdown/ “The ongoing government shutdown means more than $600 million per month won’t go to millions of Texas SNAP beneficiaries who pump that money into the state economy.” The cost of the SNAP program for the whole country is about $100 billion annually.

That’s a lot of money not going to the local grocery stores who need to pay their employees. Plus all these federal workers and tech employees being laid off are also not going to be spending money.

An economy built on redistribution of taxes and treasury money printing is not a strong economy. In the past few decades many of the new jobs being created were paid directly or indirectly with taxpayer dollars, i.e. federal and state funds, especially healthcare. Plus government assistance is usually funneled straight back into the local economy via rent assistance, food dollars, and utilities. In other words, take away federal jobs and welfare benefits and suddenly there’s a huge decrease in available money for buying goods and services.

I call this situation going on a “money diet”. I’ve had to go on a money diet, or lack of money diet, many times over my lifetime. Spend too much , earn too little, time to tighten the belt and get ready to pay the bills. Or oftentimes my husband would take on side jobs or sell one of his toys. God always provided a way for us.

But for people that are completely dependent on the government for food and shelter and living on a fixed income, such as elderly and disabled people and single mothers with young children, it’s much harder to tighten the belt. And God provides for people in different ways, such as through other people. Voluntary charity needs to come back into style.

I’m not saying that all government assistance or spending is a bad thing. But when the government becomes a major employer and provider of economic stimulus, that’s dangerous. Not only is it often an inefficient system but it gives an unfair advantage to businesses who do business with the government because, the government generally increases spending every year which guarantees raises for those who work for the government and higher prices for those who sell to the government. Compare this to small businesses who usually pay a higher percentage of overhead and have to compete with larger companies for customers.

It’s time for communities and families to help each other. I’m happy to see that this is already happening where I live. People are collecting food and offering assistance. But I think many will still suffer if SNAP is not reinstated quickly. And people need jobs.

I feel bad for these people . They are having the rug pulled out from under their feet. And the ripple effect is coming to all of us. This is going to be worse than the Covid shutdown if the private sector doesn’t step up quickly and start hiring.

These necessary budget changes will affect almost everyone in some way. Businesses will see a decline in profits, more layoffs are coming, and many small businesses will close. This means more consolidation of wealth in the hands of the few.

I’m praying that the SNAP issue will be resolved soon and Trump says it will, but this is not the only budget item that is being affected as Trump tries to save America from financial collapse caused by years of reckless deficit spending . I hate to be a pessimist but all indicators point to a recession while the country adapts to this economic reshuffling .

“A recession is a significant, persistent, and widespread contraction in economic activity. Since the Great Depression, the United States has suffered 14 official recessions.”https://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/past-recessions.asp

Are you or someone you know suffering from job loss or loss of benefits?

Do you think the private sector will absorb these layoffs ?

Are you doing anything to help ?