Making coronavirus relief difficult is a political choice, one based on the assumption that administrative complexity is a virtue and ease of access a vice. If Congress wants to quickly deliver aid to the people who need it the most, expanding food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, makes sense. Beneficiaries need not jump through any new hoops; the money simply appears on their beneficiary card. SNAP is a strikingly effective stimulus in a slowing economy. Congress can also protect SNAP by blocking a rule Trump proposed last year that will make it harder to receive benefits. Use mobile payments to reach these people. The costs of a dysfunctional administrative system are easy to ignore when they are imposed on other people.
At www.nytimes.com
