Trump’s Stricter Work Requirements for Food Stamps Might Actually Lead to Fewer Jobs
“The stricter work requirements would overwhelmingly hurt the poor, according to an analysis of SNAP recipients from Mathematica, a nonpartisan think tank. Among the estimated 1.2 million SNAP recipients who would be affected by the changes, 88 percent were in ‘deep poverty’—meaning they had a household income at or below 50 percent of the poverty level. (A report from the Urban Institute found that SNAP helped reduce deep poverty by 28 percent in 2015.) Nearly 80 percent of them lived alone, while about 11 percent were working, receiving an average of $181 in benefits per person. The majority of those on SNAP who aren’t working ‘are caring for someone else, suffering from a disability or chronic health condition that limits their ability to work, or going to school,’ according to the nonprofit the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.”