As you continue to consider these numbers, we encourage you to think about their impact on this week's elections. As Benjamin Franklin prophetically stated, "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
Idaho households had the
second highest increase in SNAP expenditures at a shocking 377% increase since
2007, while the State saw a 37% increase in food costs for WIC from
2007-2011. The conservative five year
cost of family fragmentation of TANF, SNAP and WIC for Idaho is
$127,617,601.23.
Illinois saw an 11% increase
in TANF expenditures, Illinois households had a 191% increase in annual SNAP
costs, and the State saw a 27% increase in food costs for WIC. The conservative five year cost of family
fragmentation of TANF, SNAP and WIC for Illinois is $4,649,568,585.98
Indiana saw a 17% decrease
in TANF expenditures over the last five years, households had a 205% increase
in annual SNAP costs since 2007, and the State saw a 36% increase in food costs
for WIC from 2007-2011. The conservative five year cost of family fragmentation
of TANF, SNAP and WIC for Indiana is $2,056,140,705.65.
To read the entire article examining the costs of family fragmentation for each state, see the forthcoming issue of Regent Law Review, and the article by Rachel K. Toberty and Lynne Marie Kohm, entitled, “A 50 State Survey of the Costs of Family Fragmentation.” To subscribe to Regent Law Review see http://www.regent.edu/acad/schlaw/student_life/studentorgs/lawreview/subscriptions.cfm.
Many thanks to Professor Kohm and Rachel Toberty for the massive undertaking represented by this law review article, "A 50 State Survey of the Costs of Family Fragmentation." It represents such a thorough and detailed study of the hard realities facing American families and our social welfare system today. As the opening quote of this excerpt urges, we should remember that we can easily trade our freedoms for the promise of either luxuries or even necessities flowing from the public coffers. At the same time, it is a blessing to live in a country where it is unlikely that anyone will starve thanks the availability of programs like TANF. The larger question is how we can liberate families to support themselves again through economic growth. We must also seek to inspire those who have developed a lifestyle of dependence or irresponsibility to step out in faith and find God's high calling for them to support themselves and their own families without government assistance. In these endeavors, there is much room for Christian churches to provide practical, hands-on mentoring programs to teach some of the life skills and attitudes which may be missing and thus holding back some from employment. We could also ponder the concept of "victimless crimes" from the area of criminal law. Just as it is debatable as to whether any crime is truly "victimless," the TANF numbers and similar phenomena remind us that actions and choices have consequences. The choices of both our government and of individuals now play out in the rising levels of poverty and collective dependence reported in this article -- so we might definitively say that no bad choice is ever really "victimless." The emphasis on autonomy and individual freedom which has dominated American law and culture for forty years leads to broken families which in turn burden even intact families with the financial and emotional cost of family breakdown. One wonders how often the average citizen ponders the possible financial downside to irresponsible decisions he or she may be tempted to make regarding family relationships. May God give our leaders and our people wisdom to make better choices which benefit the individual and the community.
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