Federal cuts give Maine a chill as winter approaches, By Abby Goodnough, November 27, 2011, New York Times: “Michele Hodges works six days a week but still cannot afford a Maine winter’s worth of heat for her trailer in Corinth, a tiny town where snowmobiles can outnumber cars. Ms. Hodges and her two teenage daughters qualified for federal heating assistance last year, but their luck might have run out. President Obama has proposed sharply cutting the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and Maine is at this point expecting less than half of the $55.6 million that it received last winter, even as more people are applying. The average state benefit last year was about $800 for the season; now it may be closer to $300. Eligibility requirements have tightened too, and with oil prices climbing – the average in Maine was $3.66 a gallon last week, up from $2.87 a year ago – many here are anticipating days or weeks of forgoing heat…”
Day: November 28, 2011
Economic Security Index
More than 1 in 5 Americans are economically insecure, By Tami Luhby, November 28, 2011, CNNMoney.com: “More than one in five Americans saw at least a quarter of their available household income vanish in the Great Recession, yet lacked a sufficient financial cushion, according to a report released Monday. The situation has left them economically insecure, according to the report, which updates an Economic Security Index created by Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at Yale. More than 20% of the nation was in this condition in the three years spanning 2008 to 2010, a sharp increase from 14.3% in 1986. Some 62 million Americans faced economic insecurity last year. The Great Recession is also prompting deep losses among the insecure, with the median drop in income for this group hitting a record 46.4% in 2009…”
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- Number of N.J. residents receiving food stamps doubled in last four years, By Eric Sagara and Stephen Stirling, November 27, 2011, Star-Ledger: “The number of New Jersey residents receiving food stamps has doubled in the past four years and is at its highest level in more than a decade as the nation’s still sputtering economy continues to take its toll on the poorest residents of the Garden State, state and federal data show. As of September, the most recent data released by the state Department of Human Services, more than 400,000 households and nearly 822,000 people were enrolled in the food stamp program, meaning nearly one out of every 10 residents in New Jersey receives assistance.As of September, the most recent data released by the state Department of Human Services, more than 400,000 households and nearly 822,000 people were enrolled in the food stamp program, meaning nearly one out of every 10 residents in New Jersey receives assistance…”
- Michigan ranks third in use of food stamps, By Maureen Groppe, November 21, 2011, Lansing State Journal: “Michigan households relied on food stamps last year more than all but two other states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And the 16.9 percent of Michigan households that received food stamps in 2010 was up from the 14.5 percent that did in 2009. The figures released last week come from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey. Participants were asked whether anyone in the household received food stamps in the last 12 months…”
- Food stamp divide grows, By Bob Smietana, November 23, 2011, The Tennessean: “David Shelley of Nashville used to work two jobs to feed his wife and two children, but it still wasn’t enough. So, for a few months, they used food stamps to make ends meet. Two decades later, he’s a Baptist pastor and small businessman, and he’s joining a growing number of people critical of the food stamp program at the same time participation is at a record high. He fears it’s becoming an entitlement program people don’t try to leave. ‘If you are working and you are doing your best and you need food stamps, then God bless you,’ he said. Otherwise, he believes the Bible message is clear: If you don’t work, you don’t eat. Nearly 46 million Americans participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. That’s up from 17 million in 2002 and includes 15 percent of households in Tennessee, according to the Census Bureau. The price of the program – about $68 billion annually – and the nation’s budget crisis have opened it to scrutiny and revealed deep divides in American culture…”
- Food stamp usage sticking, By Joan Garrett, November 25, 2011, Chattanooga Times Free Press: “As Tennessee families paused to give thanks around the dinner table Thursday, one of every six households was getting help from Uncle Sam. A new study found that Tennessee ranked second behind only Oregon in the share of households receiving food stamps, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Payments (SNAP), during 2010. The U.S. Bureau of Census reports that 45 states provided more federal help with groceries last year, swelling the number of U.S. households getting food stamps to 13.6 million…”