- California discourages needy from signing up for food stamps, By Evan Halper, August 17, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “It was not surprising that Texas held out. For years, Texas was among a handful of states that required every resident seeking help with grocery bills to first be fingerprinted, an exercise typically associated with criminals. Even though Republican Gov. Rick Perry ultimately got rid of the policy, Texas — always seeking to whittle down ‘big government’ — remains one of the most effective states at keeping its poor out of the giant federal food stamp program. But it is not No. 1. That distinction belongs to California…”
- Food stamp cut backed by Republicans with voters on rolls, By John McCormick and Greg Giroux, August 13, 2013, Bloomberg: “As the U.S. economy recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression, the explosive growth of food stamps remains a lingering legacy. And now the program comes with an irony, as the Republicans seeking to cut it also represent vast numbers of recipients…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty