Every day, nearly 50 million Americans wake up not knowing where their next meal is going to come from. Food insecurity is one of the most significant challenges of our time because of the enormous long term effects that diet and nutrition have on our health that strain our healthcare system. As this problem seems to continue to increase every year, imagine my surprise when in Februrary of 2014, President Barack Obama signed legislation that will cut $8.7 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (SNAP benefits) over the next 10 years, causing 850,000 households to lose an average of $90 per month. The effect was immediate and impoverished families and individuals saw a drastic cut in benefits.
For the last several years, Maine has applied for a federal waiver that allows some able-bodied adults to receive food stamps without fulfilling work requirements. According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, able-bodied recipients are defined as adults ages 18 to 49 who have no dependents, are not pregnant and are not disabled. Last month, Governor Paul LePage announced that Maine will no longer seek this federal waiver and that any citizens in Maine that seek to receive benefits will need to meet a work requirement outlined in federal law, which means they need to either work at least 20 hours a week or volunteer for a community agency.
Not only do I believe these actions to be irresponsible in attempting to solve a short term problem of budget deficits, but more importantly I believe they also contribute to the negative perception of those receiving federal assistance of any kind. Studies have shown that although Americans believe there are multiple causes of poverty, the popular opinion is that those living in poverty or needing assistance from the government are poor on their own volition. That's right, folks! The majority of Americans think people got out of bed one morning and said, "Hey, I think I'm going to be poor this morning." Individualistic causes such as laziness, low intelligence, drug and alcohol abuse, and poor work ethic are seen as the leading causes of poverty. Lack of job opportunities, systemic inequalities, low wages, and crippling student loan debt are not seen as reasonable causes of food insecurity or poverty.
Obama contributes to this negative perception by cutting benefits, as if 50 million Americans do not need our help combating food insecurity. LePage also creates even larger stigma against the poor by refusing to apply for a federal waiver in Maine that implies that 12,000 Mainers don't deserve our help because they’re simply not working hard enough. It's important to acknowledge that those 12,000 Maine citizens only account for 4.4 percent of all food stamp dollars that come to Maine. Will cutting them off the food stamp rolls really push Maine forward?
Washington County residents are leading the food insecure in Maine at 17.6 percent; Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset are tied for second place, at 16.7 percent. Even in York County, vacation land for The Bushes, on the Southern Maine coast, 13.5 percent of residents don’t know when they’ll get their next good meal. After 12,000 people are cut, where will they go for assistance in these counties when the unemployment rates in some rural areas are still high? Rural areas of Maine have recovered only 63 percent of jobs lost during the recession, compared to 106 percent nationally. If there are no jobs to apply for or the only jobs available are those that offer low wages we cannot expect people to make ends meet and support themselves to put healthy food on their tables.
Food pantries have been already seen the increasing number of individuals they serve every year, despite the decreasing unemployment rate and signs of an improving economy. People will turn to food pantries and food banks and other charitable organizations, who are already pushed to their maximum limit and sometime send people away due to lack of supplies. These organizations will begin to feel more of a burden as 12,000 Mainers lose their benefits entirely.
What alarms me the most is that this seems to be business as usual in the state of Maine and in this country that seems to prove time and time again that we say we care about helping those in need and fighting the war on poverty, but we seem to fall short. Actions speak louder than words and right now the silence is deafening.
References
Tagler, M. J., & Cozzarelli, C. (2013). Feelings Toward the Poor and Beliefs About the Causes of Poverty: The Role of Affective-Cognitive Consistency in Help-Giving. The Journal of psychology, 147(6), 517-539
Map the Meal Gap | Food Insecurity in your County. http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-studies/map-the-meal-gap.aspx?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=mapthegap. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
Resnikoff, N. (2014, February 7). President Obama signs $8.7 billion food stamp cut into law. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/obama-signs-food-stamp-cut
Russell, E. (2014, July 23). LePage: Maine will no longer waive food stamp work requirements. The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved October 10, 2014, from http://www.pressherald.com/2014/07/23/lepage-proposes-work-requirement-for-food-stamps/
Good Points!
ReplyDeleteLack of good jobs, Lack of decent wages, and Rising Housing Costs, are the major reasons why people can't get out of poverty.
Thank you for sharing about a topic that is affecting our own communities. I was unaware that foo stamp benefits were being cut for 12,000 'able-bodied' citizens and I believe this is pertinent information. Where are this people going to go to receive supplemental food security? Is this really what is going to make a difference in our economy? By the limitations and perception that they don't 'deserve' help because they are making a conscious decision to be 'lazy.' Where are the rehabilitation, prevention, and counseling services that this individuals are in need of?
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