When the news broke that the Trump administration is scheduled to make changes to the federal food stamp program (SNAP) that would strengthen eligibility requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD), the liberal media kicked their fear-mongering talking points into high gear. After reading the actual details about the coming changes, I concluded that they Are needed. Nevertheless, the liberal media and elected members of the Democrat party deliberately chose to leave out important details in order to cause fear and panic among food stamp recipients. Much of the reporting omitted the phrase "able-bodied without dependents." That deliberate and calculated omission makes it difficult to calm the fears of the elderly and disabled. Even though the tightening of eligibility requirements affects only able-bodied adults (between the ages of 18 and 49) without children , it is being reported that the scheduled changes could cause kids to lose free school lunches. This false reporting is done for the sole purpose of spreading fear.

Reading the details about SNAP changes, I begin to wonder: why are some individuals up in arms about cutting food stamps for able-bodied adults when we have a national unemployment rate of 3.6 percent and over seven million jobs available? Manufacturers are reporting that there aren't enough workers to fill their open positions. In fact, why are able-bodied adults eligible for food stamps to begin with? Who decided that it is a good thing to give a single healthy adult (especially one without children) in the prime of his life food stamps under any circumstance?

Now that we as a nation have created a dependent group of people, many now believe they are owed these so-called benefits. I made a YouTube video about the SNAP changes, and I was shocked at some of the comments I received. I now realize that I live in a bubble, because I know of only a few able-bodied relatives who receive food stamps, but I thought they were outliers.

I vehemently contend that there is absolutely no excuse for a healthy single adult in his prime needing government assistance to feed himself. Many commenters presented minimum-wage jobs and the high cost of rent as justification for an able-bodied adult without dependents to need food stamps. To that point, I contend that there is always a way for a healthy adult to earn more income working with his hands. There are side jobs such as yard work and house-cleaning that can be done to supplement an individual's income.

Many commenters ignored the idea of working with one's hands to earn extra money and said I am not realistic and that everyone is not like me. So working for a living is not realistic?

I did receive some positives messages from hardworking red-blooded Americans like the following:

Patricia I have just watched your YouTube video, I also agree on your views about able bodied people and doing what they gotta do...I am a white woman, I just turned 57, I went and got my class A , CDL, I work with all men, I work for a municipality , I plow roads in the winter and road repairs all summer, I deal with sucky men's attitudes every day, they hate that a woman is doing this job, and better than them. So, when people say they can't find a job it makes me angry. I obviously live where it snows a lot, these people would have a shoveling job for 6 months of the year...I have family members and I know a lot of people who do not want to break a sweat!!!! This subject makes me so angry...I have to do 210% to prove myself every day. GIT-R-DONE

Somehow, over the past fifty years, we have created a dependent group of people who believe that their current life situation is not their fault. Many believe that they have nothing to do with the fact that they can acquire only minimum-wage jobs, although there are millions of good-paying jobs available. As for housing costs, yes, they are rising. However, rent is comparable to the median income in an area. If it were not, all of the rental properties in that area would be vacant. People who cannot afford rent in the area where they live believe that the cost should be lowered to their income instead of their income increasing to meet the cost.

I cannot count the number of times that I hear people say the monthly jobs report numbers are not accurate because they can't find a job. Never do these entitled people take stock of their own lives and pinpoint where they have made mistakes that have landed them in their current circumstances (mainly failure to obtain an education or skill). I conclude that people are shielded from acknowledging their role in their current situation because America has taught them through entitlement programs that they deserve to be taken care of even if they are in the prime of their lives. What have we created?

Contact the author at patdickson@earthlink.net. Follow her on Twitter at @Patrici15767099 and YouTube.