People getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits don’t just face the prospect of House Republicans slashing $40 billion from the program over the next 10 years, they face the immediate, certain prospect of losing an average of nearly $30 a month in benefits starting November 1st, 2013, as a temporary increase in benefits included in the stimulus expires.
That will take money from the food budgets of Madison County families who really can’t afford it, people whose food assistance already doesn’t stretch as far as it needs to..
With a population of 13,169, Madison County has 2,360 people (18% of the population) who depend on food assistance.
Republicans like to talk about SNAP as being plagued by fraud (even though its fraud rates are vanishingly low) and, even with unemployment high and the minimum wage so low that many who work still qualify for food stamps, to stigmatize recipients. They like to pretend its easy to live on a food stamp budget. But in reality, this is an economy where too many are unemployed or stuck in part-time work when they want full-time work. It’s an economy where you can work full-time at minimum wage and still be poor, still need food assistance. And SNAP benefits can be the difference between having some fruits and vegetables occasionally and eating nothing but processed foods. For instance..