Enough with the dishonest framing that America has no social safety net — that claim collapses under the weight of simple facts and common sense. From Social Security to Medicare, from SNAP to unemployment insurance, the federal government already runs an enormous set of programs designed to catch people who fall on hard times, and pretending they do not exist is a rhetorical trick meant to deflect responsibility, not illuminate truth.
Let’s be blunt: Social Security alone spends well over a trillion dollars a year supporting retired workers, the disabled, and survivors, and it is one of the central pillars millions of Americans rely on each month. Conservatives should never minimize the reality that these programs matter to real people — we can argue about reform, but not deny existence.
Food assistance is not a myth either; SNAP served roughly 41.7 million Americans per month in fiscal 2024, proving that families across this country turn to public programs when disaster, illness, or job loss leaves them with no other option. Anyone who ignores those figures is either willfully blind or playing politics with the lives of struggling Americans.
That said, acknowledging the safety net’s size does not mean celebrating its failures. Means-tested welfare now consumes staggering resources, and too often the architecture of these programs creates dependency instead of dignity and work. Conservative reformers are right to push for common-sense fixes — work requirements, streamlined benefits, and greater reliance on faith-based and community charities — so aid reaches the truly needy without trapping a generation in government dependence.
Commentators like Ben Shapiro have been correct to point out that the United States does have a safety net even as they argue it needs overhaul, not expansion for its own sake; honest conservatives know the goal is to protect the vulnerable while restoring opportunity and responsibility for everyone. The right answer is not to deny reality or to throw more money at broken systems, but to fix incentives and restore American self-reliance.
Patriots understand both charity and stewardship: we protect those who cannot protect themselves, but we also safeguard the future of the nation by demanding accountability and reform. Call out the spectacle of political theater where opponents pretend America is defenseless to justify bigger government, and instead fight for a safety net that honors work, strengthens families, and preserves the freedom that made this country the land of opportunity.
