Trump is working to get people off food stamps. Should we say working? No,we should say forcing people out of the SNAP program. Nearly 800,000 people could lose access to food stamps if US president the president gets what he wants. Who will be affected the most? Single white men.
The US Department of Agriculture chief Sonny Perdue issued a statement last Thursday where he promoted Trump's plan for bettering the program.
“Today, at the direction of President Donald J. Trump, we are taking steps to restore integrity to SNAP and move people toward self-sufficiency… Americans are generous people who believe it is their responsibility to help their fellow citizens when they encounter a difficult stretch. That is the commitment behind SNAP. But like other federal welfare programs, it was never intended to be a way of life.”
SNAP is the Supplemental Food Assistance Program that has been around since the 1960s. But now the rules are changing to motivate people to get off of the program.
ABAWDs of "able-bodied adults without dependents" that have received food stampsfor more than three months in a three year time span will need to have jobs. Currently, rules allow individual states to waive the work requirement in areas with unemployment rates at least 20% higher than the national rate, usually meaning 10% unemployment rate.
Currently, able-bodied adults ages 18-49 without children are required to work 20 hours a week to maintain their SNAP benefits. The House bill would have raised the age of recipients subject to work requirements from 49 to 59 and required parents with children older than 6 to work or participate in job training. The House measure also sought to limit circumstances under which families that qualify for other poverty programs can automatically be eligible for SNAP. – time.com
About 755,000 out of 2.8 million ABAWDs are not currently working, the population that would lose SNAP benefits.
Who makes up this group of 755,000?
MSN.com/Quartz states that Food stamp cut will hit Trump's single white male base hardest.
But where do the LGBT citizens fit into things, SNAP, ABAWDs? A 2016 Williams Institute study shares these eye opening facts shown with these graphics below.
No matter how you slice it, forcing people off of SNAP/food stamps may not be the best thing when the economy and stock market have an unknown and shaky future. LGBT citizens will definitely be affected.
Have you been on food stamps before? I use to teach high school and I knew several families that received food stamps to help them when they needed it.
h/t: time.com, MSN.com/Quartz
President Trump hasn’t let me
President Trump hasn't let me down yet. The man takes action.