Quote:For Maggie Aragon, a New Mexico woman who’s relied on federal food assistance for more than 30 years, the moment her SNAP balance dropped to zero was life-altering, she says.

“When I heard, ‘Zero dollars,’ my chest went into my throat,” Aragon told KOAT 7 News, describing the fear and panic that set in when she discovered her benefits had been cut off due to the ongoing Democrat-led government shutdown. “It’s detrimental to my life.”

Aragon, who said she also depends on local food banks to survive, is one of tens of thousands of New Mexicans now facing uncertainty as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) runs out of funding. However, it shows the cracks in what is supposed to be a temporary system, letting people live off of SNAP for not just years, but decades. With New Mexico having the highest percentage of SNAP recipients in the nation, the effects of the shutdown are being felt most sharply here, making it a wake-up call.

According to federal data, Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, have voted at least 13 times against measures to reopen the government, keeping critical programs like SNAP and WIC unfunded for more than a month. The result has been a funding freeze, leaving millions of Americans — including 460,000 New Mexicans — with empty accounts.

While Democrats such as Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) have tried to deflect blame, the reality is that their votes to block short-term spending bills directly caused the freeze. SNAP funds were already strained after a 40% program expansion under Joe Biden, which ballooned costs to record levels.

Revelations of widespread fraud and abuse in the SNAP program have further inflamed the situation. In a stunning admission this week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called for a complete overhaul of the EBT system following the exposure of massive corruption.

Federal investigators found:

A 40% surge in SNAP spending under the Biden administration.

Twenty-one Democrat-led states refusing to cooperate with federal data-sharing efforts designed to stop illegal immigrant access to benefits.

Thousands of fraudulent cases uncovered nationwide, including EBT cards used by deceased recipients.

Over 100 arrests tied to SNAP fraud rings exploiting the system.

Critics say the chaos underscores years of Democrat mismanagement and misplaced priorities. Instead of reforming a broken program and protecting taxpayer dollars, Democrats doubled down on waste and dependency — and now the poorest Americans are paying the price.

Even Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s measly $30 million state stopgap plan, announced last week, offers little relief — providing just around $65 per recipient.

As the shutdown enters its second month, Aragon’s story captures the human toll of Washington dysfunction: a government that has let a woman rely on federal aid for three decades — and then suddenly being cut off.

The growing scandal has reignited debate over both the future of SNAP and the political games that keep families trapped in dependency while fraudsters exploit the system. For now, as Democrats continue to block efforts to reopen the government, Aragon and millions of others are left staring at zero — and wondering next steps.

Link

If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

Yep, if the govt can feed you it can also starve you. Hope the voters in NYC are taking note, but I doubt it.

Let her starve. My compassion for the generational poor is at its lowest point ever.

30 years of free food?

FFS

Get a damn job

Typical welfare queen

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

there's no magic switch to fix it; but there is one that can shut off the valve...

(11-03-2025 04:23 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

Yep, if the govt can feed you it can also starve you. Hope the voters in NYC are taking note, but I doubt it.

A corporation can do that too

(11-03-2025 06:29 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 04:23 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

Yep, if the govt can feed you it can also starve you. Hope the voters in NYC are taking note, but I doubt it.

A corporation can do that too

depends on the state, unions, and level of pay, Ja?!

we already knew ewe were scarred and fuxxored...

are ewe telling me ewe can't move next door to Rosie 0' .... c'mon mayun...

(11-03-2025 04:29 PM)ODUsmitty Wrote:  Let her starve. My compassion for the generational poor is at its lowest point ever.

22.fiddy says it would take 3 months to starve this person. 30 years of free SNAPfood didn’t just go to waste.

Thats what you get when you allow the government to control your life. The moment a Chuck Schumer gets mad because he cant get tranny dollars or healthcare for illegals, your livelihood becomes at risk.

Only country in the world where those in "poverty" are obese.

(11-03-2025 08:27 PM)Eagleaidaholic Wrote:  Only country in the world where those in "poverty" are obeast.

FIFY

(11-03-2025 06:29 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 04:23 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

Yep, if the govt can feed you it can also starve you. Hope the voters in NYC are taking note, but I doubt it.

A corporation can do that too

How and to the tune of 40+ million all at once?

I saw the lib talking point of using EBT is the same as using a credit card to buy groceries with all the stimulus checks going out. Was not a good talking point in that we don't get monthly stimulus checks and I don't recall the last one we got and in the mean time the owner of said CC is responsible for paying for it.

Who is paying the rent?

(11-03-2025 06:29 PM)ballantyneapp Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 04:23 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(11-03-2025 03:32 PM)CardinalJim Wrote:  If nothing else is learned from this episode of Getting by in 2025, it’s the hope some realize a government that provides your food can also make sure you go hungry.

Personally I like eating and I don’t want the government involved in the process.

Yep, if the govt can feed you it can also starve you. Hope the voters in NYC are taking note, but I doubt it.

A corporation can do that too

True, but the difference is that the government is a monopoly.

If one corporation stops selling you food, there are hundreds more corporations eager to jump into the market to sell it to you.

If the government stops selling you something, you've usually got nowhere else to turn because in order to sell it to you, the government frequently drives out most competitors first in its attempt to lower prices. That doesn't apply to food stamps because it's a subsidy rather than a direct sale - but it does apply to air traffic control, airport security, passenger rail, GPS, weather forecasting, flood insurance, mail delivery, etc. In other countries it frequently includes healthcare and electricity.

(side note - this is actually a great argument for federalism. It provides some level of competition for many government services)

no one will cry because weather forecasting is not getting their pay, they're always 50% wrong anyway, I could do that job. LOL

that was sarcasm, don't get mad at me. LOL

Clearly there is something wrong with her.