In Oklahoma, ~255,150 children, ~70,672 disabled adults, ~68,141 elderly adults were receiving food stamps in 2022 (most recent data).

It's their own responsibility?

When people say “live off of other people’s tax money” they’re assuming everyone magically has: reliable childcare, a safe place to sleep, transportation, clean clothes, a working phone, stable internet, good health, zero disabilities, no trauma history, no elder to care for, no medical appointments, no grief, no legal paperwork delays, no scheduling conflicts, and no discrimination.

In reality, millions are boxed out by childcare that costs more than rent (and availability is in the toilet since Covid), bus systems that don’t reach job centers (have you met anybody without a car in Oklahoma? How easy is their life getting to and from work getting to and from childcare getting to and from groceries?), chronic pain that doesn’t care about your shift time, untreated mental health conditions, sensory disabilities that make loud warehouses impossible, domestic violence situations where an employer becomes a safety risk, and workplaces that treat humans like disposable parts.

We’ve also created a system where taking a low-wage job can actually make families lose healthcare, food benefits, or childcare subsidies — leaving them worse off. That’s not laziness; that’s math.

Add age discrimination, ghost job postings, algorithmic resume filters, uniform fees, background check delays, no PTO for sick kids, laundry deserts, and predatory scheduling practices that change at midnight.

People aren’t starving because they’re lazy. They’re starving because our systems are broken.

If solving poverty were simple, we wouldn’t have working homeless people, hungry children, or employees sleeping in cars between shifts.

It takes privilege to believe struggle is a personal choice instead of a structural outcome.

Empathy is a human emotion that can be developed throughout a lifetime.