Signal Boost: SNAP policiy change
Aug. 19th, 2019 11:27 amThe US welfare system provides food to hungry people through the SNAP program. One of the aspects of the SNAP program is something called "broad-based category eligibility" which means that some low-income people are judged to be in an eligible category and they don't have to jump through all the hoops to prove they're poor enough to qualify for assistance. This cuts down on bureaucracy and really helps a lot of people who are right on the edge of eligibility and might be eligible one month but not the next and go back and forth depending on a whole lot of factors as their hours at work fluctuates, or their healthcare costs go up and down, or whatever. Broad-based category eligibility ("Cat El") basically says "you know what, we're not going to nitpick over a few dollars here and there, both the government and poor people have better things to do than wrangle over this, and kicking someone off the program when they're going to be right back on it next month or the month after would be really stupid and cruel and a waste of resources." Cat El feeds hungry people while cutting down on red tape and program overhead.
This is something both Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on, by the way. Yes, there are a few assholes who don't like it, but every time it's come up in congress to debate whether or not it should continue, most people in both parties are in favor of it because it is pretty common-sense, and there really isn't a downside. So, last year, it came up again in congress during budget wrangling, and congress voted to keep it.
Trump's Department of Agriculture (which handles feeding programs) is trying to kill Cat El. They're trying to get people off of SNAP even if it's only temporary, increases bureaucracy and red tape, hurts poor people and increases government spending.
Please leave a comment for the USDA saying why it's a bad idea. Here's a widget to help you do it, but please also personalize the message a bit so they can't mark it as spam. (Here's a link with more information to help you figure out what to say.)
This is something both Republicans and Democrats broadly agree on, by the way. Yes, there are a few assholes who don't like it, but every time it's come up in congress to debate whether or not it should continue, most people in both parties are in favor of it because it is pretty common-sense, and there really isn't a downside. So, last year, it came up again in congress during budget wrangling, and congress voted to keep it.
Trump's Department of Agriculture (which handles feeding programs) is trying to kill Cat El. They're trying to get people off of SNAP even if it's only temporary, increases bureaucracy and red tape, hurts poor people and increases government spending.
Please leave a comment for the USDA saying why it's a bad idea. Here's a widget to help you do it, but please also personalize the message a bit so they can't mark it as spam. (Here's a link with more information to help you figure out what to say.)