Thirteen previously exempted Alabama counties saw an 85 percent drop in food stamp participation after work requirements were put in place on Jan. 1, according to the Alabama Department of Human Resources.
The counties - Greene, Hale, Perry, Dallas, Lowndes, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Clarke, Washington, Choctaw, Sumter and Barbour - had been exempt from a change that limited able-bodied adults without dependents to three months of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits within a three-year time frame unless they were working or participating in an approved training program.
During the economic downturn of 2011-2013, several states - including Alabama - waived the SNAP work requirements in response to high unemployment. It was re-instituted for 54 counties on Jan. 1, 2016 and for the remaining 13 on Jan. 1, 2017. As of April 2017, the highest jobless rate among the 13 previously excluded counties was in Wilcox County, which reported a state-high unemployment rate of 11.7 percent, down more than 11 percentage points from the county's jobless rate for the same month of 2011.
Ending the exemption has dramatically cut the number of SNAP recipients in the counties..
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I cannot believe this isn't the standard for food stamps across the nation. I've lost a couple jobs before, and after a week I likely had something lined up, and in between having been stressed to death about income.
ReplyDeleteNot for more than 2 minutes did I consider assistance, since I had several prior jobs behind me, thus having "experience." The service industry is always hiring somewhere within 15 miles of any location on the eastern shore. Walmart needs greeters. There is no reason anyone who wants a job, should not be able to find one. Not always what one would want, but a paycheck is better than late bills.
A lot of people will come up with excuses, but that is what they are. I lost 90 pound in three months from nothing but diet and exercise. If I can do that, there is no excuse for not being able to find a job. Losing that weight is surely much harder.
Yet none of those able and working age single and childless adults has starved after refusing to work and losing EBT privileges.
ReplyDelete