Cutting good welfare and preserving bad

The money in the farm bill is dominated by food stamps. The debate over it is dominated by everything else. But debate or no debate, the Senate wants to cut food stamps a little, the House wants to cut them a lot more, and now GOP Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas wants to bring House Democrats around to the farm bill by making sure food stamps will get slashed regardless. The House is expected to vote today, following several hearings on the farm bill and none on food stamps.

When lawmakers target food stamps for cuts, they tend to talk about the need to get away from lavish handouts and move toward promoting self-sufficiency. You might argue that this is the right goal. It's a lot harder to argue that food stamps somehow work against it.

The average food stamp benefit is $4.50 a day. Most recipients work; the problem is how little they get paid. The food stamps program is efficient—92 percent of its funding goes directly to benefits—and it makes for fantastic economic stimulus.