Monterey, CA 46 Million Americans On Food Stamps

by Richard Kuehn on 12/06/12

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California The front page of USA Today yesterday carried the sad story that a whopping 46 million Americans are on food stamps.  "For the poor, 'recovery' is a mirage" was the headline.  Currently, the national poverty rate stands at 15% while the gap between our nation's richest and our nation's poorest continues to widen.  Poverty has not been a big topic for politicians since 1964 when the poverty rate was about 19% and President Johnson introducing what he called his War on Poverty.  But this could change with all of the focus in Washington D.C. on the potential of our country going over the fiscal cliff.  High wage earners are being looked at under a microscope by both Democrats and Republicans.  Since Johnson's war on poverty, the rate has been lowered, but it has never dipped below 10%.  Poverty would be much higher without food stamps, but many cuts have been made to this program as well.  Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.  Until we can get our nation's unemployment rate down significantly, there will continue to be high stress placed on programs to help the impoverished such as the food stamps program (known in California as CalFresh and at the Federal level as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP).

 

 

 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands To Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.