SNAP is a lifeline that keeps Idaho families healthy, stable | Opinion

SNAP

Imagine being a full-time nurse, a single mother of six, and still needing to dig through landfill garbage just to feed your children. That was my mother’s reality in Idaho. She earned $9 an hour as a Registered Nurse, and yet she made too much to qualify for SNAP or federal assistance beyond reduced-price school lunches.

That gap in support pushed our family into deep food insecurity. Forty years later, I am a single mother of two and an adjunct professor. I also make “too much” to qualify for help beyond free school lunch. The reasons my children and I are not homeless are that I receive child support and alimony, and my mom lives with us and pays part of the rent. Without these things, my wages alone would not cover rent and groceries.

Families like mine work hard, contribute to their communities, and still struggle every month to stay afloat. This is why SNAP benefits are not optional programs — they are essential lifelines that keep Idahoans healthy, stable, and able to provide for their families. We cannot ask hardworking parents to choose between feeding their children and keeping a roof over their heads. SNAP ensures they don’t have to.

Leslie Schwartz-Leeper, Meridian

DOGE’d

I met a really nice couple the other day. They have two children, ages 15 and 11. Both were employed until recently, when the father was “let go” from civil service because of DOGE. Think about it. They now have less than half the income they counted on, lost health insurance which is going up drastically, they will no longer be paying the taxes or buying the level of goods or even groceries which they used to and that hurts families as well as the economy. Maybe a family member will require major medical care, and they will lose their home because of debt. SNAP won’t be an option and lunches won’t be available at school. College may no longer be an option for the children. If they are eventually without housing, they will be treated like garbage and a drain on society. All because of lies about fraud and government waste, while the rich get richer and don’t pay a fair share of taxes. Please think about them when you vote.

Sheila Robbins, Boise

‘Quiet, piggy’

If any of my kids said “quiet, piggy” to someone, you better believe punishment is at hand. The President of the United States calls people names almost daily - ugly, stupid, nasty, etc. I get angry, but have to remind myself that he is essentially a 12-year-old boy. Like Ralphie in The Christmas Story, maybe a good mouth washing with soap is the answer. Parents, teach your children to act better than our President.

Pam Johansen, Meridian

Wag the dog

The 1997 movie “Wag The Dog” according to IMDb was based on the idea that “a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a Presidential sex scandal”. The Trump Administration is worried about Venezuela being non-democratic. It’s easier to bully Venezuela than say Russia, which is also a non-democratic country. The Trump Administration is failing on several fronts. Why not bully a smaller country in order to take attention away from disastrous tariffs, the Epstein mess and constant efforts by the administration to thwart the Constitution. Maybe we are living through a yearslong, seemingly endless version of a “Wag The Dog” reality show.

Sidney Asker, Boise

MAGA’d

No wonder we can’t have nice things in Idaho: the MAGA Republican voters are hitting us with a double whammy! Idaho MAGA Republicans have slashed taxes enough to save our little state of less than 2 million people $4 billion dollars! That’s no savings at all, except of course to the top 1% of Idaho households who got the lion’s share of the tax breaks. The rest of us would like better medical and mental health care, better safer roads and bridges, far more money poured into education and technical training for our youth, pre-K through college, better public transportation, help with housing, and many other uses that would better life and society here.

The other part of the double whammy is what MAGA Republicans did to destroy our government infrastructure via DOGE, tariffs, and that Big Beautiful Bill for Billionaires.

If Trump and the MAGA Republicans had run on this destruction would the MAGA Republican voters still have voted for them? My guess is yes because they are blinded by the cult, as are the elected MAGA Republicans.

He’s almost a lame duck, then what? Who will the cult and the billionaire oligarchy support after him?

Dallas Chase, Boise

Fulcher

Idaho deserves answers and leadership from our Congressman, Russ Fulcher. Instead, we get silence and complacency.

While Donald Trump profits from dubious crypto schemes, sends $40 billion to Argentina while cutting SNAP benefits for struggling Americans, and allows cowardly masked thugs to snatch citizens off our streets, Fulcher says nothing.

When taxpayer dollars fund new Gulfstream jets for Kristi Noem or luxury “date-night” flights for the FBI director and his girlfriend, Fulcher remains mute. He’s shown no interest in uncovering why the Epstein files remain sealed, shielding the rich and powerful from accountability, or in asking what happened to the $50,000 former ICE director Tom Homan took from FBI agents.

Idahoans are struggling with rising costs, unaffordable housing and shrinking opportunities. Instead of fighting for fair wages, family farms, and veterans’ care, you simply parrot MAGA talking points and protect privilege.

If only your gaslighting could fuel our power plants — at least then, your hot air might lower our utility bills.

We don’t need a rubber stamp in Congress. We need a real representative.

Ron Nichols, Meridian