Brace yourselves: the Trump administration just committed the unthinkable act of expecting able-bodied adults to do something radical in exchange for taxpayer-funded benefits: work. Or train. Or volunteer. Just 20 hours a week. Naturally, activists and Democrats will be losing their minds.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t about cruelty, racism, or “oppression,” as the outrage machine would have you believe. This is about restoring a shred of common sense to a welfare system that’s been abused, bloated, and misused for decades.
The policy is simple. If you’re physically and mentally capable, and you’re receiving food stamps or Medicaid, you’ll be expected to put in some effort toward self-sufficiency. This means holding a part-time job, enrolling in a job training program, or contributing to your community through volunteer work. If you don’t, you risk losing the benefit. That’s not punishment; it’s accountability.
But to the professional grievance industry, this is an all-out assault on the poor. The real outrage, however, is that 71 million Americans are on Medicaid, and 41 million are on food stamps, many of them able-bodied, working-age adults without dependents. And yet, only 44% of that group worked even part-time in a recent month. That’s not a safety net. That’s a mattress.
This move isn’t new or radical. It’s a return to what worked. Remember the 1996 welfare reform? It included work requirements, leading to higher employment, reduced dependency, and lower child poverty rates. Even Barack Obama admitted he was wrong to oppose it. But now that Trump and RFK Jr. are pushing it, suddenly it’s “cruel.”
The activists’ real fear isn’t that the policy won’t work, it’s that it will. That it will expose decades of failed promises and reveal what many Americans already know: dependency is not compassion. Expecting people to contribute isn’t oppression; it’s the foundation of a functioning society.
This is about restoring dignity through work. It is about ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent on those truly in need, not on indefinite handouts for individuals who simply choose not to contribute. Additionally, it aims to protect the future of welfare for our seniors, disabled citizens, and struggling families who depend on it for survival.
If 20 hours a week of effort is too much to ask in return for government assistance, then maybe the real question is how we got this entitled in the first place.
The free ride is over. And it’s about time.
