Cutting Wisconsinites off of SNAP is not only evil, it's dumb for WisGOPs and Trump to do.

If you're not paying daily attention to the news, it may be difficult to notice that we are nearly one month into a shutdown of the Federal Government. But a whole lot of people are likely to directly feel effects later this week, as approximately 700,000 Wisconsinites may see their SNAP benefits cut off on Saturday.

Last week, the [US] Agriculture Department issued temporary emergency funds to stabilize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in Wisconsin, known as WIC. Even with that boost, however, the National WIC Association said Oct. 21 the funds are rapidly depleting across state agencies, an indication of how needed federal assistance is for vulnerable families….

But in an Oct. 24 memo from the Agriculture Department first reported by Axios, the federal government said it can't legally use contingency funds to pay for food stamps during the government shutdown, nor would it reimburse states that do cover the cost of benefits. Plus, the memo said, any transfers would take away from other funds, such as Child Nutrition Programs and the emergency funds from WIC.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Evers said at a press conference in Racine Oct. 22, can't do anything without federal funds.

"We don't have money for November," Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson, who was also at the Racine press conference, said.

And here is what you see when you go to the Wisconsin DHS website for information on future SNAP benefits, which is also known as Foodshare in our state.

Due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, November benefits for FoodShare members will be delayed. Foodshare benefits are 100 percent funded by the federal government and the shutdown will need to end before members can begin getting benefits again.

During the evening of Friday, October 24, the federal government provided additional information about FoodShare use during the federal shutdown. You may use any benefits currently on your QUEST card in November. To be clear, benefits that are already on your card will not be removed because of the shutdown and you can continue to use your current benefits to buy food during the shutdown.

Of course, if you’ve used up your October benefits on, you know, FEEDING YOUR FAMILY WITH INCREASINGLY COSTLY FOOD, then you’re out of luck.

Let me remind you that after the recently-released CPI numbers, food at home (generally thought of as "groceries") was up 2.5% in the first 9 months of the year, with little sign of slowing down.

In theory, state funds could be added in order to pay for the estimated $115 million for November’s FoodShare costs, but a leader of the Wisconsin Legislature says that will not happen.

Senate President Mary Felzkowski said in an interview on WISN-TV on Sunday that state lawmakers likely won't seek to backfill the federally funded food stamp program with state funding through the government shutdown, which is in its 27th day.

At the same time, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials issued a memo saying contingency funds won't be available to backfill the program, which is part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program…..

State lawmakers could choose to use state funds to cover FoodShare benefits for November, which would require lawmakers to vote to create a new funding appropriation or to expand an existing appropriation to deliver the state funds, according to the fiscal bureau.

Felzkowski, a Republican from Tomahawk, said Sunday that lawmakers are unlikely to do that.

"You know, $114 million is a lot of money. My heart goes out to people, but this is a federal issue. And I don't see the state having the resources to do that," Felzkowski said on WISN-TV's Sunday politics show "Upfront."

Now today, Wisconsin Dems such as Governor Evers joined with 24 other Dem-run states in filing a lawsuit to stop the Trump Administration from cutting off these SNAP benefits. And I even noticed that even the typically right-wing Wisconsin Grocers Association has asked that Trump/GOPs allow for SNAP benefits to continue.

“Food security is fundamental to the well-being of every Wisconsin family,” said Mike Semmann, WGA President/CEO, and added, “Grocers across the state – both in urban and rural communities – see firsthand how vital the FoodShare program is for families struggling to make ends meet. We urge policymakers to act swiftly.”

Wisconsin’s grocery workers are on the front lines of serving their communities, and the potential disruption of FoodShare benefits places additional strain on both customers and store employees. The WGA emphasizes that extending food assistance will help maintain stability for families, local grocers, and the broader Wisconsin economy.

“Wisconsin’s grocers remain committed to serving their communities, even as federal inaction creates uncertainty for families who rely on SNAP/FoodShare. This places our frontline grocery teams in the challenging role of explaining these impacts at the checkout. We urge our leaders to act swiftly so grocers can focus on what they do best – helping Wisconsin families put food on the table,” Semmann said.

That statement hints at another reason to continuing SNAP, outside of being a humane thing to not let people go hungry (which is the most important reason). Because it's good for the economy to have people continuing to buy and afford food.

The numbers show that every dollar given to North Texas families for food assistance played a massive role in the economy last year, totaling a 54% return on investment. 🔗 https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-advocates-says-cuts-to-snap-benefits-would-hurt-everyone-21832682 

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— Dallas Observer (@dallasobserver.com) March 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM

It seems like such an own goal for the Trump Administration to choose to cut millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites from food assistance at the same time when they refuse to negotiate on anything that might prevent people from getting cut off. And with the 2nd and 3rd-highest rate of the state's SNAP beneficiaries living in the districts of the 2 Wisconsin House Republicans most likely to lose in 2026 (Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil), you'd think that WisGOPs would care more about this and the blowback that will be coming if those Wisconsinites get cut off.

It almost makes me think that at this point, Dems should walk away and let the bad stuff happen. It's definitely better for electoral purposes, even if it shouldn't be done for human reasons. And maybe it's severe economic pain that's the only way to shake low-info Americans out of their apathy about the bad things that are going on and give the GOP the ass-kicking they deserve.