U.S. LOOKS FOR MORE FOOD-STAMP RECIPIENTS

Government giveaways aren't always as popular as one might expect. As we have noted before, it never ceases to amaze us how some intended recipients of tax-funded largesse simply don't want handouts. And it is even more amazing to watch government's gyrations to find ways to put more Americans on the dole.

The latest example is food stamps. The Department of Agriculture says 62 percent of eligible households don't get them. This means only 38 percent go through the bureaucratic hoops to actually get food stamps. Why don't the rest get them?

We would like to think that the 62 percent, mostly working families, choose to pay their own way rather than take government help. Some people may refuse such help as a matter of pride. Others may want to avoid the hassle of dealing with the federal government.

There is no doubt that some of those who are eligible for food stamps and don't receive them aren't fully informed and don't know they can have them. But our guess is that would be a fairly small number of households.

But President Clinton and his Agriculture Department advisers would have us believe that a sizable majority of Americans eligible for food stamps aren't getting them because government hasn't made a big enough effort to make sure they do.

Under this logic, government assumes that its handouts wouldn't be refused by informed Americans.

Hogwash.

To add insult to injury, Clinton has ordered changes in the rules for obtaining food stamps that will make it easier for potential recipients. The plan sounds a lot like credit-card companies that send you a credit card without requiring an application or credit check, knowing you're likely to use the card if you have it in your possession. Never mind that credit-card debt is one of the worst things that can happen to low-income Americans who are then stuck with monthly payments that barely touch the interest owed, much less the borrowed amount.

Incredibly, Clinton says the food-stamp rule changes are needed because so many people are making the transition from welfare to work. His plan, however, sounds like a guaranteed welfare-to-welfare program.

That's the last thing we need.