The measure is necessary because welfare eligibility and spending - including for food stamps - have exploded, threatening to crowd out everything else in the state budget.
Despite indisputable evidence that welfare fraud and waste are alive and well, many politicians in Harrisburg and Washington have downplayed it, while actually expanding welfare benefits to the detriment of the truly poor.
In Pennsylvania, food-stamp expenditures have climbed from $750 million in 2002 to $2.5 billion this fiscal year - an increase of more than 300 percent. Not surprisingly, abuse has climbed, too.
Last year, 178 grocery and convenience stores in Pennsylvania were banned from the food-stamp program - now called the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) - for trading cash (not food) for food stamps.
Last month alone, eight individuals were found guilty of welfare fraud within the food-stamp program and sentenced to return nearly $50,000 in stolen benefits.
It's impossible to determine the full extent of errors because the state doesn't actively search for mistakes. However, these numbers likely represent a mere trickle for a hemorrhaging system with few legislative surgeons willing to stop the bleeding.
Enter the asset test, a tried and true tourniquet made from common sense. Pennsylvania's proposed reestablishment of this measure would limit SNAP benefits to nondisabled adults under 60 with assets up to $2,000 and senior citizens with assets up to $3,250. The test excludes one's home, car, a second car worth less than $4,650, and retirement savings.
By applying this simple test, DPW has stated the change will remove benefits for only 2 percent of current, undeserving SNAP beneficiaries, saving Pennsylvania taxpayers about $50 million.
