Beyond the Blame Game: Why Food Stamps Should Never Be a Bargaining Chip
On Nov. 1, the federal government is scheduled to stop funding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as part of the ongoing government shutdown.
For 42 million Americans, roughly 1 in 8 people in this country, this is not a political headline. It is a scheduled, deliberate event that will, according to official state warnings, prevent November benefits from being paid.
Let’s be clear about who these 42 million Americans are. This isn’t an abstract budget line. Federal data shows this is a vital lifeline for:
- 16.3 million children (about 39% of all participants).
- 8.3 million seniors aged 60 or older (20% of all participants).
- 4.2 million non-elderly adults with disabilities (10% of all participants).
- An estimated 1.1 million U.S. veterans and their families.
This need does not simply vanish when the funding stops. It is transferred. This “tsunami” of need, as one food bank director called it, will crash onto a charitable food system that is already at its breaking point. Local food pantries are warning it is “physically impossible” for charity to replace a federal program of this magnitude, especially when they are already facing record demand and rising costs.
But this is not an isolated crisis. It is a symptom of a much larger disease.
As this 29-day shutdown continues, nearly 900,000 federal employees are furloughed. Another 2 million “essential” personnel, from TSA agents and air traffic controllers to active-duty military, are being forced to work without a paycheck. The Pentagon has confirmed that without a new appropriation, Oct. 31 may be the first time in history that active-duty members of all military branches will miss a paycheck due to a shutdown.
This is not governance. It is a system that has normalized holding its own citizens and essential functions hostage.
It is a moral failure because it treats our most vulnerable neighbors as leverage. It is a practical failure because it manufactures a nationwide crisis, invites chaos and destabilizes communities, all for the sake of a political power play. This brings us to a core, non-partisan principle: essential benefits and essential functions should never be bargaining chips.
The Political Process That Manufactures This Crisis
How do we find ourselves in this predictable, self-inflicted crisis every year?
It is because the political conversation, as presented to us, is a trap. It is a familiar, broken binary.
The narrative forces us to pick a side: Party A is “holding the line” while Party B is “playing politics with the budget,” or vice-versa. We are told to pick a villain: the congressional leadership in one party or the other.
This entire debate is a distraction.
It is a false choice designed to force us to pick a team in a game where we, our families and our neighbors are the only ones who lose. This is the political theater that has replaced pragmatic governance. It is the logical endpoint of a system that values partisan victory over functional service. This stalemate is a political choice, normalized by both parties over decades, to weaponize the public.
And here is the ultimate proof of the broken system: while 2 million essential workers and military service members go without pay, the Members of Congress who created this crisis will continue to receive their paychecks. Their salaries are funded by a permanent, mandatory appropriation, legally shielding them from the very consequences they are inflicting on everyone else.
A Principled Path Forward
To be clear: the solution that follows will not solve the immediate crisis. That damage is being done right now. Congressional leaders must find a way to end this impasse immediately.
But the moment they do, we cannot simply be relieved and change the channel. The second this crisis is over, our only priority should be to demand a permanent, structural reform so this never happens again.
The current process is a dead end. It is designed to produce this exact crisis. Arguing over who is to blame is the trap. The real solution is to change the rules of the game.
A principled solution is to permanently decouple all essential services and benefits from the annual appropriations drama. This isn’t a vague idea; it’s a specific, structural reform. It means passing a law, an “Essential Services Continuity Act,” that automatically funds critical, pre-approved commitments even if congressional leaders fail to pass a new budget. This would guarantee that funding for SNAP, VA benefits, Social Security administration and military pay continues. It would also ensure that “essential” federal employees, who are still required to work, actually get paid on time.
The predictable objections to this, such as “it’s a blank check” or “it removes the incentive to negotiate,” are part of the same broken political thinking that got us here. This isn’t a blank check; it’s a temporary continuation of existing funding to honor commitments already made. And it doesn’t stop negotiation; it improves it. It forces congressional leaders to have their budget fight over the actual items in dispute (new discretionary spending and policy riders) rather than see who will be blamed first for inflicting the most pain on the public. It removes the hostage from the room.
This reform is not “left” or “right.” It is “functional.” It isn’t ideological; it is logical. It is rooted in the principle that the public good must be permanently shielded from partisan warfare.
The current system relies on us to be spectators, to root for our team in a game that uses our families and neighbors as leverage. The only way to win is to refuse to play.
It is time to stop asking who to blame for the crisis and start demanding why our leaders are allowed to create it at all. This is the conversation we must be having. Call your representative. Yes, demand they end this shutdown immediately. But do not let them off the hook with that. The more important question is: What will we do to ensure this never, ever happens again?
Demand they commit to a permanent, structural fix that protects our essential services. That is how we move from being political hostages to being independent, empowered citizens.
Greg Wright is the founder of Tribune’s Roar, a non-partisan opinion blog dedicated to finding solutions beyond the “broken binary.” His perspective is shaped by 25+ years of hands-on political experience, from working in the Michigan legislature to leading political organizations and working on high-level mayoral campaigns in New York City.
