The state of Georgia has re-ignited a firestorm of debate by announcing plans to extend its program of witholding food stamps from any able-bodied, childless adult. Piloted earlier this year in three counties, and subject to government approval due next month, the prohibition will be extended to 24 more counties in January 2017.
Effectively, it means that another 10,000 people in Georgia will be told “get a job or forget the food stamps.”
State officials and supporters of the scheme point out that the tri-county pilot has already resulted in a drop of 60 percent in claimants. Other states such as Florida and Kansas have introduced similar rules, producing equally dramatic falls.
The supporters also claim it will help stop abuses of the system. Interviewed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), one Georgia resident said:
“The more the handouts, the lazier people get.”
Rep. Greg Morris hopes to see the program extended throughout the state, where 1.7 million adults currently receive the benefit, 113,000 of them classified as able-bodied and childless. Morris told the AJC:
“No one who is able-bodied and able to work should be drawing food stamps, period.”
There is a growing chorus of objections to the scheme, ranging from the practical to the political.
Bobby Cagle, director of the state’s Division of Family and Children Services, estimates that a statewide rollout would cost his department an additional $40 million.
Opponents also cite two existing state programs, aimed at helping food stamp recipients to find work – one of them funded federally at a cost of $15 million. They have resulted in only 26 people finding jobs this year.
These two arguments alone efficiently scupper the notion that the scheme saves taxpayers’ dollars.
But then there’s the human element: the recipients themselves. Ed Bolen, senior policy analyst with the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told the AJC:
“Many of these individuals find barriers to work, even if they have no children and meet the definition of able-bodied. A lot of these folks have undiagnosed medical conditions because they have no health insurance.”
His concerns are echoed by Melissa Johnson, a policy analyst with the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. She said:
“These are some of the poorest educated, and poorest in terms of income. I worry about them connecting to other resources, and finding food in other ways.”
A case in point is 52-year-old John Sheffield, of Georgia’s Fulton County. He has not worked since he lost his call center job in 2010, claims to have lost count of the number of applications he’s made, but says he has problems with his feet so he could not do a job that entails standing. He told the AJC:
“I think the people trying to pass these rules have no empathy. Hitting me with a stick isn’t going to make me work any faster.”
So what’s it really like for a family to live on food stamps? Watch this 2015 CNN video for an example:
Featured image: Duane Reade Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License
