Food Stamps + Work Requirement = Hunger
Today we have fewer unskilled jobs for the increase in our population, and our minimum wage is far from a living wage. Most jobs for unskilled workers are also part-time and very few offer regular hours. As a result, millions of adults, children and young people experience homelessness each year.
In addition, child care vouchers, which subsidize licensed and safe child care while eligible parents are at work, can have wait lists in the thousands. Child care vouchers also require that a parent’s work hours coordinate with available child care hours. When it comes to lower waged work, this is often not possible.
President Trump and other congressmen and women want a Mom, Dad or a single person to be working in
order to be eligible for Food Stamps and Medicaid, but even full-time minimum waged workers cannot pay the cost of living. A work requirement is a major stumbling block to gaining adequate access to our wage subsidy programs that provide food and health care for those who work for very low wages.
This work requirement will prevent many working families and individuals from having adequate food and health care during the “off” season. In many rural and thinly populated areas, and in some urban areas, only temporary work is truly available. For instance:
- Many companies offer more minimum waged jobs on holidays and in the summer.
- Some jobs are time-limited and are available only when there are increased orders for a particular product or service.
- Some home care workers may be employed until their client dies or moves.
- Some teachers relying on food stamps may be unemployed in the summer.
- Many unskilled workers hold 2 or 3 jobs at minimum wage. At any time, they may lose these jobs and also their food stamps and health care if a work requirement is imposed.
Contact your Congresswomen and men and ask them to oppose adding a working requirement to those who earn little more than a minimum wage while working part-time jobs. Tell them that food stamps dependent on a work requirement will only lead to hunger.
