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Food Stamps

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The recent cuts to food stamps, combined with the struggling economy, have shifted poverty and food stamps in a new direction. No longer is the stereotypical face of the poor a single mother who works multiple jobs to support a handful of children, and no longer are more people falling under that umbrella.

Agricultural Bill Cuts

The original cuts to the Farm Bill—the ones proposed by Republicans—were to consist of $40 billion cut over a decade, and lifting the “heat and eat” threshold to $20. Together, along with another $500 million in other food stamps-related cuts, the total Republicans were hoping to save from the federal budget would have amounted to $93.5 billion over ten years—a fairly decent amount of pocket change.

But in a rare show of bipartisanship, Democrats and Republicans each gave a little to achieve a lot: the “heat and eat” threshold would be $20, but the total cuts to food stamps over ten years would be $8, or 20% of the original amount. And the two sides also agreed to include in the bill a clause that lottery winners wouldn’t be able to collect food stamps, although the Republicans’ bid to tighten food stamps requirements didn’t make it in.

The House will vote on the bill this week.

Food Stamps Users Shifting to a New Demographic

Previously, children and the elderly were the main recipients of food stamps, but that’s now shifted to working age people, or the former middle class. Since 1980, adults with a college education are now the ones receiving food stamps the most, as the relationship between corporate profits and starting-level salaries is the widest it’s been in American history. And from 2009 on, more than half of food stamps recipients are aged 18 to 59.

Disappearing Middle Class

A big reason for this is while job growth is increasing, it’s not happening in the sectors that will allow people to sustain themselves well and independently. Many of the jobs being created are in low- or minimum-wage areas, like retail or fast food, which—as seen with the recent McDonald’s fiasco—is not enough for a person, let alone a family, to live on. So, unemployment will lower, but poverty will increase.

How Can This Be Fixed?

What this amounts to is a new working-poor class that’s growing in size with no immediate solution on how to fix it. Food stamps or no food stamps, the people who are on them are making such low wages, a couple hundred dollars either way each month is almost a drop in the bucket. What needs to happen is a reinstatement of the middle class where citizens can afford to feed themselves without the help of others.

But while severely or immediately cutting off food stamps would have a devastating effect on the population, it wouldn’t be as much—or as drawn-out—as not bringing back a solid middle class.

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