Posted by
Andrews on Wednesday, April 02, 2008 11:39:38 AM
Best of the Web covered this yesterday, but I figured I would add my two cents as well. (Anyway, as they messed up their archives, if you didn't catch it when the story ran, no way for you to read it now.)
I have seen a slew of news stories recently horrified that poverty is increasing in America, using as evidence the "sudden escalation" in the number of food stamp recipients.
First, before getting into the bigger issue, let me say that, as a former social services worker, there is a factor here all the pundits are missing, the weather. Without fail, as soon as fall arrived, I saw hundreds of construction laborers in to apply for food stamps to carry them through the slow construction period of fall and winter. Now, I don't know about the rest of the nation, but here in the northeast it has been a bit colder and wetter than usual, which does tend to slow down new construction starts, which may mean these seasonal food stamp recipients are staying on the dole a bit longer than usual, elevating this year's numbers above last year's.
But that is only a minor influence. The major reason that more people are on food stamps is neither the weather nor the economy. The main reason is that the farm bill of 2002 liberalized requirements to qualify for food stamps. It took a while for word to get out, but between 2001 and present, the number of food stamp recipients have doubled. There is no poverty involved, no economic problems, it is simply the logical outcome of making it easier for people to qualify for food stamps.
Yes, the slower housing market may make a few more people qualify, and the slower economy may make a few more,and, as I proposed, the weather may be keeping some construction workers on longer. But if those were the only reasons, the numbers would not be anywhere close to what they are at present. The single largest cause of food stamp growth is the expansion of eligibility.
Of course, this points out how foolish Republicans can be. I am sure the Democrats sold them on the expansion of food stamp eligibility as a "compassionate" measure, and, always trying to appear "nice", the Republicans and Bush went along. Did they get any credit for it at the time, or since? Not a bit. But, now that the eligibility rules allow more people onto the rolls, what happens? The media uses it as evidence that Bush has destroyed the economy? In short, not only did Bush get no credit for his attempt to be kind, but he even got blame for getting the very results the bill aimed to achieve.
Let this be a lesson to president McCain. Not only will you get no credit for working with the Democrats, you will be blamed for doing so, not just by the right, but by the left as well. Before you think of your "Gang of 14" days and try to reach out across the aisle, recall that Bush expanded food stamps and was blamed when more people qualified.