Abstract
For the 2012 election a lingering question is still not truly answered. Are food stamps going to be reassessed or taken out of entitlement programs? There are 45 million people on food stamps today in the United States and with the unstable economy tax payers are wondering if most of their money is going towards entitlement programs or education, and service programs, etc. The review on the literature will address various aspects of food stamp consumption in our society.
The Reality of Food Stamps: Review on the Literature
The number of individuals who are receiving food stamps today in the United States is around 45 million. The ongoing debate is whether the food stamp program should be reassessed or be removed from the entitlement programs. This decision will impact the budget of the federal government, taxpayers and recipients. This paper will address the following questions;
- Does ethnicity play a role in people using food stamps?
- What are the guidelines for recipients to be approved for food stamps?
- Are recipients abusing entitlement programs?
- Does the use of food stamps stimulate the economy?
- What should the federal Government do about the rapid increase of people trying to apply for Food Stamps?
The review on the Literature will expand the knowledge concerning food stamps and its usage.
Does ethnicity play a role in people using food stamps?
There are 45 million people who are receiving food stamps today in the United States, which is more than the population of Canada, North Korea and Afghanistan (The Daily Jobs Update, 2011). But does this mean that there is one ethnicity that uses these programs more than another? In August 1995, the census bureau conducted a report focusing on different ethnicities of mothers receiving government help. The results were shocking because one would normally think that non-whites would be the ones using the systems, but according to the results, there were 4,242 Whites, 1,903 Blacks, and 1,060 Hispanics; these statistics were just in the east central area of the United States. Most of these mothers receiving food stamps were in poverty, single, did not graduate high school and most of them had their children out of wedlock. It is tough to see how many young girls have to find an alternative way to support their families. Even though the economy was not as bad as it is today. Consider the chart below; to view how many individuals on an annual bases were receiving food stamps. As you can see in 1975 there were about 17 million people on food stamps, this is still a high number, but compared to 45.34 million in 2011, the 1975 statistics seem minuscule. Is the economy the one to blame for the increase usage? Or are the criteria to be eligible for assistance lenient? An interview was conducted with a former Texas Works Advisor of the Texas Department of Human Services, employed there for almost sixteen year’s; the advisor conducted interviews for applicants and determined whether they were eligible for assistance.
A futher explanation on the requirements for receiving food stamps can be found in the brochure for Food Stamps make America stronger. Alexandria, Va. (2004). Futher more, the advisor was asked what was needed for a person to qualify to receive assistance? The advisor answered, “Applicants must meet all state policy requirements listed in the “Texas Works Handbook” policy differs with each program.” Anonymous. (2011, October 02). These are the following programs that individuals can apply for; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families also known as Tanf, food stamps and Medicaid. Each program has its own policies and requirements to be eligible for assistance. The advisor hit main eligibility points that each program requires to obtain assistance; household composition, must have a social security number, must meet citizenship requirements, resources, income limits and management. This is just a small portion of the policies requirements. Other eligibility requirements to apply are depending on what program the individual needs assistance for. These requirements seem sufficient and easy to comply with. One can see why many unwed teenage mothers apply. These individuals are facing a crisis, due to many of them not any having any type of monetary support. “There is growing evidence suggesting food stamp recipients are not finding government assistance sufficient to meet the needs of their households, and as a result, are turning to emergency food providers in the private, non-profit sector for help (Eisinger 1999; Daponte 2000).” (Paynter, S., Berner, M., & Anderson, E. (2011).) Most do not have support from their parents or from the absent father. Technically the absent parent is required by law to provide monetary support for the child if they did not give up their rights to the child. Due to the fact that these types of assistance exist, fathers tend to oversee how it will affect the child, as said in Child Support as a Labor Regulation, Yiyon, C. (2011). “Such particular attention does not lead to an overly narrow focus, because the majority of cases of child support enforcement have been for fathers who are associated with current or former welfare recipients.” Government assistance is sometimes not adequate for a child to be financially stable, absent fathers at times neglect that they are still responsible for the financial stability of the child, this only leads to some cases of fraud in food stamp recipients.
Are recipients abusing entitlement programs?
Another question that is lingering around the debate whether the food stamp program should be reassessed or be removed from the entitlement programs; is the idea of fraud. How could fraud be possible if almost every person who applies is granted help? Well, the advisor was also asked if she ever denied assistance to anyone and why they were denied she answered, “Yes I did. Due to not passing income means test, citizenship requirements, resources, not providing required information, these are the main reasons, there are other factors in which I denied assistance, everything was done by policy, no exceptions….” If illegal immigrants were to apply for food stamps in the United States their child would have to be an American citizen. Debates assume that the poor are taking unfair advantage of the government's largess by shunning work for welfare benefits, (Kim, M., & Mergoupis, T. (1997). This comes to explain the generosity of the food stamp program where an American child cannot be turned down for assistance even though the mother is an illegal. Therefore, the knowledge of these illegals has expanded, where they can cheat the system exploiting their American children in order to gain stability. By relying on usage of the United States Food Stamp program, immigrants’ employment is not necessary in order to sustain their lifestyle. Immigrants are not to take the full blame for fraud, there have been many cases with wide variety of ethnicities, this alerted government into trying to make it harder for people to apply “Mulzer (2005) argues,…mistrustful of welfare claimants and convinced of their ability to “scam” the system, many politicians and members of the public wish to make benefits so hard to obtain that only the truly desperate would choose to apply.” Swan, R. S., Shaw, L. L., Cullity, S., Roche, M., Halpern, J., Limbert, W. M., & Humphrey, J. (2008). New policies have risen from the enormous growth of food stamp usage, “Policy makers in three dozen states this year proposed drug testing for people receiving benefits like welfare, unemployment assistance, job training, food stamps and public housing. Such laws, which proponents say ensure that tax dollars are not being misused and critics say reinforce stereotypes about the poor, have passed in states including Arizona, Indiana and Missouri.” (Sulzberger, 2011) Policy makers are using drug testing as a deterrent for applicants enrolling for assistance. Making it a law for a person to take a drug test is suitable because if one does not have anything to hide one can get assistance without any embarrassment or remorse. Also by placing recipients in work programs would help the individual build up confidence to provide for their family. This later on could result in recipients withdrawing from food stamp programs. In many cases the money that is brought into the house is mainly used for leisure expenses, by doing so it stimulus the economy but are food stamps also a stimulus?
Does the use of food stamps stimulate the economy?
Obama's Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack: "Well, obviously, it's putting people to work… I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program; you have to recognize that it's also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity. If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, and ship it. All of those are jobs. It's the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times." (Real Clear Politics, 2011) In these tough times tax payers who are not on food stamps struggle enough to keep their families afloat, by using most of their tax dollars to support welfare programs they are losing money that can go towards their own assistance. Even though Vilsack has beneficial liberal points regarding food stamps stimulus opposing perspectives have been produced. Deneen Borelli, senior fellow project 21, (Fox news, 2011) “There are more people on food stamps than there is people in California… let’s look at the cost aspect of this, what does it cost to have food stamps for these individuals, this is tax dollars coming from hard working Americans,” working Americans are the ones producing these funds in order for others not to starve. Whereas if one looks at it this way, tax payers make the money that goes to these programs the users then buy groceries with it, so technically the tax payer bought those groceries and made those jobs; stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, and ship it. So if more individuals are working the stimulus would go up even more than just relying on food stamps which only generates $1.84 in the economy. Ultimately food stamps are not a stimulus; workers are the stimulus in this nation.
What should the federal Government do about the rapid increase of people trying to apply for Food Stamps?
For one, individuals need to be independent from the government and quit relying on who is going to help them. For instance an article from New York Times, Food Stamps, and Nothing else stated, “Food stamp programs in 30 states and the District of Columbia provided data on the number of recipients who had no other cash income in 2007 and 2009. These numbers reflect not only the economic conditions in various states, but also the extent to which food stamp recipients qualify for other safety net programs, such as welfare or unemployment compensation.”(DeParle, Ericson & Gebeloff, 2010)
If a person really needs the assistance there should be harsher regulations which they would be inclined to follow. For instance drug testing, random house follow ups, strict regulations, every applicant must see some sort of advisor before receiving assistance and renewing their application every six months in order to follow up on their income status. References
- Alexandria, Va. (2004). Food Stamps Make America Stronger. Retrieved From Http://Permanent.Access.Gpo.Gov/Lps58068/313brochure.Pd
- Anonymous. (2011, October 02). Interview By V.G Roman [Personal Interview]. Truth Of A Worker, El Paso Tx.
- DeParle, J., Ericson, M., & Gebeloff, R. (2010, January 02). Food stamps, and nothing else. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/01/02/us/foodstamps-table.html
- The Daily Jobs Update. (2011, October 06). Food Stamps Charts. Retrieved From Http://Www.Dailyjobsupdate.Com/Public/Food-Stamps-Charts
- Fox News. (Producer). (2011). Are Food Stamps A Stimulus?. [Web Video]. Retrieved From http://video.foxnews.com/v/1116007474001/are-food-stamps-a-stimulus
- Greenberg, D., & Robins, P. K. (2011). Have Welfare-To-Work Programs Improved Over Time In Putting Welfare Recipients To Work? Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 64(5), 910-920. Retrieved From Ebscohost.
- Kim, M., & Mergoupis, T. (1997). The Working Poor and Welfare Recipiency: Participation, Evidence, and Policy Directions. Journal of Economic Issues (Association for Evolutionary Economics), 31(3), 707. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
- Paynter, S., Berner, M., & Anderson, E. (2011). When Even The 'Dollar Value Meal' Costs Too Much: Food Insecurity And Long Term Dependence On Food Pantry Assistance. Public Administration Quarterly, 35(1), 26-58. Retrieved From Ebscohost.
- Real Clear Politics. (2011, August 16). Obama ag secretary vilsack: Food stamps are a "stimulus". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved from http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/08/16/obama_ag_secretary_vilsack_food_stamps_are_a_stimulus.html
- Sulzberger, A. G. (2011, October 10). States adding drug test as hurdel for welfare. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/us/states-adding-drug-test-as-hurdle-for-welfare.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
- Swan, R. S., Shaw, L. L., Cullity, S., Roche, M., Halpern, J., Limbert, W. M., & Humphrey, J. (2008). The Untold Story Of Welfare Fraud. Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare, 35(3), 133-151. Retrieved From Ebscohost.
- Yiyon, C. (2011). Child Support As Labor Regulation. Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare, 38(3), 73-99. Retrieved From Ebscohost.
