This in response to an
editorialist who would like for us to believe his diatribes against the current
administration are "fact based."
Fact: You cite 14 million more
(since 2008) on food stamps, and attribute them all to President Obama as if
he’d personally enrolled them. Let’s actually use facts to discuss your claim.
The fact is that it’s actually 15 million! An interesting fact omitted is that
a large jump in food stamp usage increases occurred in 2008-2009. What, you say? Bush 43 was
President in 2008, how could that be? Additionally, the two largest increases in
that year, both of over 40%, occurred in such “liberal bastions” as Nevada and
Utah! In total, 10 states saw an immediate spike of over 31% in food stamp
usage in that period.
It
happens that the economic collapse of 2008 was fueled in no small measure by lax
or nonexistent regulation of risky financial markets. It also happens that the
increase in food stamp usage followed the collapse of the markets in inverse
manner. How we evaluate the growth in food stamp usage, however, can be a
statistical game of “gotcha.”
The
Rightists speak of the numbers of Americans on food stamps then (Bush 43) and
now, 6 years into the Obama administration. In absolute terms, of course, there
has been a large increase, which overlaps the Bush era as well. In point of
fact, the numbers jumped 5 million recipients in one year, Bush 43’s last year.
Nary a soul blamed (or blames) Bush for those figures. In 6 years of the Obama
administration the numbers have jumped an average of 2.5 million per year, half
the rate in the last Bush year.
That is due in large part to the fact that
Congress, in 2009 allowed the states
more leeway in administering the program, additionally allowed college students
to apply, and included a less
restrictive policy on eligibility requirements. The radical rightists, of
course, don’t blame Congress, which passed the Stimulus Bill, that’s too easy,
they blame the President. Only they in their heart of hearts know why.
Additionally, States administer and process eligibility, not the federal
government. The Congress passed the law, the President signed it but, to them,
he's the villain.
Secondarily, CBO figures show that the great bulk of increase
was due to the recession and that decline in food stamp use has always lagged an improving economy by several years. They
predict that 14 million transitioning back off food stamps over the next
several years. There is another aggravating factor. While unemployment figures
are lower than any time since 2007, the jobs being created are not high end
jobs for the most part. The sad truth is that while many on the right excoriate
food stamp recipients as lazy or shiftless, and blame them for their situation,
it remains true that a 2 minimum wage worker household with
two children will qualify, and have always qualified for food stamps during a
time when the income gap (The difference between the highest and lowest income families) has soared to the highest its ever been.
No matter how you rationalize the
propriety of the above inconvenient truth, and you no doubt will, consider one simple
truth. Your income taxes will contribute about $36 annually to the funds spent
on food stamps. That's right, $36, less than 10 cents a day. Remember, about 60%
of food stamp beneficiaries are children, students, or the elderly and/or
disabled. On the other hand, your taxes will contribute about $870 to
corporate subsidies over the same year. That’s $2.38 daily to
large, influential businesses. Rationalize that.
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