Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Working age people are now majority of food stamp users for 1st time in history, program stretched to 'cover America's former middle class'-AP

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$80 billion taxpayer funded food stamp program has doubled in 5 yrs.:

1/27/13, "The new face of food stamps: working-age Americans," AP, Hope Yen

"In a first, working-age people now make up the majority in U.S. households that rely on food stamps - a switch from a few years ago, when children and the elderly were the main recipients.

Some of the change is due to demographics, such as the trend toward having fewer children. But a slow economic recovery with high unemployment, stagnant wages and an increasing gulf between low-wage and high-skill jobs also plays a big role. It suggests that government spending on the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program - twice what it cost five years ago - may not subside significantly anytime soon.

Food stamp participation since 1980 has grown the fastest among workers with some college training, a sign that the safety net has stretched further to cover America's former middle class, according to an analysis of government data for The Associated Press by economists at the University of Kentucky. Formally called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, the program now covers 1 in 7 Americans.

The findings coincide with the latest economic data showing workers' wages and salaries growing at the lowest rate relative to corporate profits in U.S. history."...


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1/27/14, "Food Stamp Recipients Dominated By "Working Age Americans" For First Time On Record," Zero Hedge

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