The Democrats are now telling us that we need SNAP, not because it helps the poor, but because every dollar of SNAP benefits results in 1.8 dollars in “economic activity”. This is, of course, a completely fabricated number. It is based on such obscure economic ideas such as velocity of money, but that is a very general theory and can’t be accurately applied to any one program.

If this was true, then we could fix the whole economy by giving SNAP benefits to everyone in the country, but it is not true, so let’s not do that.

Even if it were true, it is not good news. Because SNAP benefits add money to the economy without added productivity, they are inflationary. Any “economic activity” generated by them is also inflationary, thereby harming everyone, including the very people they are meant to help. For that reason, SNAP should be limited to those who are in desperate need, and only for a limited time.

The idea that all economic activity is good demonstrates a basic lack of understanding of economics. SNAP benefits are all about stimulating consumption, while economic growth is dependent on production. Anything that promotes consumption without promoting production is actually harmful to the economy.

That’s why government spending is a drag on the economy. Government spending does nothing to contribute to the private economy, and government giveaways produce nothing even for the government.

All government spending is inflationary and should therefore be kept to the absolute minimum required to do only those things the private sector cannot do for itself.

The government needs to get back to defending us from outside aggression and keeping the peace and maintaining order inside our borders, and leave charity to the private sector where it belongs.

This cannot be done overnight, but we need to work toward returning things to the way our Constitution and our founders intended them to be.

PAUL RINKER

Montoursville

Submitted byVirtual Newsroom