A Man Says He Lost $740 a Month in EBT Benefits Over New Work Rules — The Internet Isn’t Sympathetic

A video of a man is circulating on X in which he criticizes changes to his Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as EBT benefits. Commenters are debating government assistance, work requirements, and personal responsibility.

In the clip, the man claims he previously received $740 per month in EBT benefits for his two children, but said the assistance has now stopped.

He said the change was tied to new work requirements. “I got an email from EBT,” the man says in the video. “I used to get $740 a month for my two kids, and we’re not getting EBT [anymore]. They took the EBT.”

He then objects to the new requirement that says that he needs to work a set number of hours to continue receiving benefits. “They’re saying I gotta work (...) I’m not working for nobody,” he says.

“This is what American taxpayers work for, for us,” he adds.

The man also argues that government spending on international issues should not come before domestic assistance. “Y’all send all that money to Iraq, Ukraine, y’all funding all these wars, but when it’s time to help the Americans, y’all don’t want to help us?” he says.

The video’s original source is TikTok account louaye1980, but the identity of the man has not been independently verified by The Daily Dot.

On X, though, some users criticized the man’s comments and argued that government assistance should come with expectations of employment. One user rather bluntly wrote: “I didn’t know I was working for a dirty, smelly, lazy, entitled idiot. (...) You want to eat, you work.”

Others similarly say adults should support their families through employment rather than relying on public benefits. “Be a man and support your family,” one wrote. “I didn’t make your kids; you did. Get (...) a job.”

However, discussions around SNAP benefits are more complicated than these reactions let on. Federal SNAP rules have included work requirements for certain adults, though there are exemptions for children, older adults, people with disabilities, and some caregivers. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, able-bodied adults without dependents may face time limits on receiving benefits unless they meet specific work or work-training requirements, as the man confirmed. Plus, states may also have different policies due to economic and federal waivers.