Odd Trends: More Americans Remain on Food Stamps, Post-Recession

[Valin]

Tip Sheet:

Kevin Glass

Aug 03, 2014

 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps) has seen a meteoric rise in enrollment in the last fifteen years, and especially in the wake of the 2008 recession. The spike in SNAP recipients post-2008 is to be expected - but the maintenance of those high enrollment numbers is an anomaly.

American Enterprise Institute scholar Robert Doar testified before the House Committee on Agriculture recently to examine this exact question. Doar notes that changes in the SNAP program that took place during this time period may disincentivize work requirements - and keep SNAP participation among working-age population artificially high.

 

As Doar notes:

 

 

In the four years following the end of the downturn in 2009, the number of SNAP recipients increased by 7.3 million. Moreover, the percentage of the population receiving food stamps increased from 13 percent to 15 percent. To give perspective on this number, we can compare the recent recovery with the recovery after the recession of the 1980’s, whose duration and unemployment levels are most comparable. Adjusting for population, in the four years following the 1981-82 recession, there was a 12.5 percent decline in food stamp recipients. In the four years following the 2007-09 recession, SNAP recipients increased by 15.6 percent. Were this recent recovery to have behaved similarly to that of the 1980’s, by 2013 only 11.5 percent of the population would have been receiving SNAP benefits: 36 million individuals as opposed to 47.6 million. That is not a small difference.

 

 

 

(Snip)

 

 

 

[cudjo]

Local newspaper had big article this morning wondering why older people aren't signing up for food stamps, it seems we grew up with the idea that you don't take handouts, you make it with what you have, guess that's bad now, but they said this age group is the smallest on food stamps.

[Cyber_Liberty]

@cudjo, if you don't take their money, you don't have to dance their tune. I think that's what kids these days don't get.

[Valin]

@cudjo, if you don't take their money, you don't have to dance their tune. I think that's what kids these days don't get.

 

 

The less I have to do with government, the better off I believe I am.