by: Susan Hogarth

Programs like SNAP, intended to provide a safety net for the nation’s most vulnerable, have devolved into political footballs, kicked around Capitol Hill during budget battles, shutdowns, and debt ceiling standoffs, with the poor held hostage to partisan brinkmanship. 

In the ongoing 2025 government shutdown drama, for instance, SNAP funding - vital for over 40 million low-income Americans - faces a cliff on November 1, as Democrats and Republicans deadlock over spending priorities, leaving families to ration dwindling benefits while lawmakers grandstand for media points, and the more despicable political operatives hope for riots in order to create more ‘crisis’ for government to ‘solve’ by violence. 

From a libertarian POV, this spectacle exposes the perils of centralized welfare: programs ballooned by coercive taxation become tools for politicians to manufacture crises, fostering dependency rather than empowerment and eroding voluntary community support.

True compassion lies in devolving aid to local charities and markets, free from federal puppetry, where donors and recipients connect without making the needy into pawns in endless political theater.

But there is opportunity in adversity: Private philanthropy has long proven more effective than coercive government ‘charity’, with food banks distributing meals at fractions of government costs - often 10 cents per pound versus SNAP’s administrative overhead exceeding 5%. This is an opportunity for private giving to step in and prove its efficiency and compassion. 

Regardless of what happens in the next week, libertarians, free-market enthusiasts, and all decent people who can afford to help ought to donate immediately to local food banks. Food items are always welcome, but the best support we can give is often a cash contribution. A $50 contribution can provide up to 40 meals. Please step up to help your neighbors.