Recently, the Trump Administration introduced a SNAP food change, in which recipients for welfare and food stamps will have to meet certain requirements for eligibility to continue receiving them.

This policy will require those who seek welfare assistance and food stamps to cooperate with new stipulations to qualify. Recipients will be limited to a shorter time period to receive benefits unless they work 80 hours a month or attend educational and training seminars. Recipients in the proposed bill will be required to pass drug tests before being eligible to receive welfare assistance.

These new requirements have been both commended and ridiculed. Some claim it is harsh and “unreasonable” to make residents seek work, put in a mere 80 hours a month or participate in other forward-moving activities. A number of citizens also believe it is unfair to require recipients to pass a drug test, asking the question, “Since when was food a privilege?” However, states will be given the option to create time frames for recipients. It was originally three months of receiving welfare before meeting requirements based on individual circumstances.

These new changes are extremely necessary and logical. The argument that it is unfair to drug test welfare recipients seems to be simply a reach to find any reason to complain about a Trump policy. The drug epidemic in America is out of hand, and we absolutely should be taking steps to fix it. This is one of those steps. This does not mean “food is a privilege,” rather a necessity. It is an attempt to make drug users consider: food or drugs? It may be a very hard decision for some, and it can certainly be difficult to overcome the dependency users form for drugs, but it is a sensible tactic for conquering the drug epidemic.

Allowing welfare recipients to receive help without requirements has only worsened the poverty and welfare rates in this country, according to Forbes. Why seek a job or stop using substances when everything you need is handed to you anyway? There is no motivation to search for jobs or overcome addiction if there are no consequences for being unemployed, either by choice or drug use. It is unfair to those hard working Americans when those who are unemployed and using drugs are receiving government help to be comfortable with their own decisions. A normal work week is 40 hours, but this only requires 80 in the entire month. That is less than what an average working American works per week by 50 percent. There is no reason a healthy American on welfare cannot or should not seek employment. Requiring welfare and SNAP recipients to pass drug tests and work 80 hours a month or attend educational or training activities is a logical, necessary step to take. To complain about a policy as this one is a stretch to complain about Trump’s decisions.

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