This deserves its own thread
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.
Among the 254 counties where food stamp recipients doubled between 2007 and 2011, Republican Mitt Romney won 213 of them in last yearâs presidential election, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by Bloomberg. Kentuckyâs Owsley County, which backed Romney with 81 percent of its vote, has the largest proportion of food stamp recipients among those that he carried.
More than half of the Owsley Countyâs population -- 52 percent -- received food stamps in 2011, the most recent yearly number available. The county, which in 2012 was 97.6 percent non-Hispanic white and had 4,722 residents, had a median household income of $19,344, well below the Kentucky median of $42,248 and the $52,762 figure nationally, U.S. census data shows. Roughly four in 10 residents live below the poverty line.
Hal Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, represents the county and in winning his 16th term last year got 84 percent of its vote. His 5th congressional district in southeast Kentucky has the largest proportion of food stamp recipients among any held by a Republican, the data shows.
Farm Bill
That didnât keep Rogers from voting for a farm bill in June that included cuts of about $2 billion annually from food stamps. That bill failed because it lacked the bipartisan support traditionally necessary for farm bills to pass.
Rogers also voted for a revised farm bill on July 11 that passed the House that was stripped of any funding for food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. House Republicans have said they will look to move a separate bill that would cut $4 billion annually from food stamps and similar programs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...cked-by-republicans-with-voters-on-rolls.html
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.
Among the 254 counties where food stamp recipients doubled between 2007 and 2011, Republican Mitt Romney won 213 of them in last yearâs presidential election, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by Bloomberg. Kentuckyâs Owsley County, which backed Romney with 81 percent of its vote, has the largest proportion of food stamp recipients among those that he carried.
More than half of the Owsley Countyâs population -- 52 percent -- received food stamps in 2011, the most recent yearly number available. The county, which in 2012 was 97.6 percent non-Hispanic white and had 4,722 residents, had a median household income of $19,344, well below the Kentucky median of $42,248 and the $52,762 figure nationally, U.S. census data shows. Roughly four in 10 residents live below the poverty line.
Hal Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, represents the county and in winning his 16th term last year got 84 percent of its vote. His 5th congressional district in southeast Kentucky has the largest proportion of food stamp recipients among any held by a Republican, the data shows.
Farm Bill
That didnât keep Rogers from voting for a farm bill in June that included cuts of about $2 billion annually from food stamps. That bill failed because it lacked the bipartisan support traditionally necessary for farm bills to pass.
Rogers also voted for a revised farm bill on July 11 that passed the House that was stripped of any funding for food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. House Republicans have said they will look to move a separate bill that would cut $4 billion annually from food stamps and similar programs.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-...cked-by-republicans-with-voters-on-rolls.html