The Dead Don’t Eat: Why the SNAP Fraud Scandal Feels Bigger Than Anyone Wants to Admit : Let’s be real for a second — every government program has a little dust in the corners. Some paperwork sits too long, someone forgets to update a file, whatever. But when you hear a number like 186,000 dead people receiving SNAP benefits, you don’t exactly shrug and say, “Ah yes, clerical errors.” No, your brain does that little short-circuit thing where you quietly wonder if the entire system is held together with duct tape and wishful thinking. And honestly? That reaction makes sense.