In my state, getting certain government benefits, over the past decade, was a matter of five minutes on the phone with an official.

As of this year it’s a scary maze of a paper application. The online application process is “temporarily out of service”. Conversation with a relevant official is no longer offered. And while you were trying to make sense of all that we stopped your benefits.

What we’re seeing here is a way to stop providing benefits, but without the legislative hassles.