- Gridlock in Congress keeps food stamp funding higher in Oregon, By Jim Myers, September 1, 2013, The Oregonian: “Food stamp programs in Oregon and across the nation continue to be saved from billions of dollars in budget cuts and other major changes by an unlikely savior: Congressional gridlock. In a clear case of unintended consequences, the much-criticized trend in Congress to accomplish nothing of lasting significance entered its second year of no food stamp overhaul. Until Congress acts, states will receive the same level of benefits. That’s a big deal in Oregon, where one in five Oregonians benefit from the state’s program, which receives about $1.2 billion annually…”
- As debate reopens, food stamp recipients continue to squeeze, By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, September 4, 2013, New York Times: “As a self-described ‘true Southern man’ — and reluctant recipient of food stamps — Dustin Rigsby, a struggling mechanic, hunts deer, dove and squirrel to help feed his family. He shops for grocery bargains, cooks budget-stretching stews and limits himself to one meal a day. Tarnisha Adams, who left her job skinning hogs at a slaughterhouse when she became ill with cancer, gets $352 a month in food stamps for herself and three college-age boys. She buys discount meat and canned vegetables, cheaper than fresh. Like Mr. Rigsby, she eats once a day — ‘if I eat,’ she said. When Congress officially returns to Washington next week, the diets of families like the Rigsbys and Adamses will be caught up in a debate over deficit reduction…”
Tag: Economic stimulus
Stimulus Spending and Assistance Programs – Ohio
Stimulus bolsters public assistance, By Russ Zimmer, February 18, 2012, Fremont News-Messenger: “Most stimulus spending in Ohio last year went to supplementing public assistance programs for the poor, according to a CentralOhio.com analysis of data gathered by investigative news nonprofit ProPublica. The $840 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 turned 3 years old Friday and is, by all accounts, winding down. The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board has paid out all but $100 billion, a board spokeswoman said. About $16.8 billion has been injected into Ohio since the bill’s passage on Feb. 17, 2009, ProPublica reports. More than a quarter of it — $4.5 billion — has been directed toward helping the state cover its share of Medicaid bills and meeting the greater demand on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Last year, state government received at least $2.1 billion from stimulus-funded sources, according to Ohio Office of Budget and Management spokesman Dave Pagnard…”
US Homelessness Rate
- Homelessness down but seen rising anew: report, By Ian Simpson, January 18, 2012, Orlando Sentinel: “U.S. homelessness slipped 1 percent from 2009 to 2011, but the sluggish economy left more poor people struggling to pay for housing and just a step away from shelters, an advocacy group said in a new study on Wednesday. The drop to 636,017 homeless people last year could prove short-lived, since it was likely due to $1.5 billion in federal aid that will run out this year, the National Alliance to End Homelessness said in its report…”
- Stimulus money kept Americans off the street, study finds, By Matt Smith, January 18, 2012, CNN.com: “Federal aid helped many cash-strapped Americans keep a roof over their heads during the prolonged economic slump, but the number of people living a step away from the streets has grown sharply, researchers reported Wednesday. The estimated U.S. homeless population dipped about 1% between 2009 and 2011 despite the lingering effects of the 2007-2009 recession, the Washington-based Homelessness Research Institute concluded. About $1.5 billion from the 2009 economic stimulus measure went toward rental assistance and programs steering recently evicted people toward new housing, ‘and it seems likely that that has worked,’ said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness…”