Rural Whites Are Now The Largest Users of Food Stamps

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Almost a year ago the Trump/GOP tax bill gave a $1.5 trillion tax break give away to the extremely wealthy and large corporations.  As everyone except Republicans predicted, the federal budget deficit ballooned - just as has occurred with every GOP tax cut since Reagan launched the trickle down voodoo economics so loved by the GOP.  In almost no time, the GOP mantra became that it was necessary to cut social safety net programs to address the budget deficit they deliberately created.  Despite this, in the 2018 midterm elections rural whites voted overwhelmingly for the GOP thanks to their embrace of the GOP's racist and religiously extreme messaging. The irony, of course, is that the largest number of social safety net programs, especially food stamps, are rural whites.  Talk about voting against one's own economic interest.  A piece in Iowa Public Radio looks at the statistics:

On a busy football Saturday, fans on both sides of the Iowa-Nebraska line streamed into a tiny grocery store to pick up hamburger, soda and chips.

More than 38,000 people in this congressional district receive assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, what used to be called food stamps. Most are white and 40 percent live under the poverty level.

Since the late 1970s, congressional leaders have placed food programs in the farm bill to attract votes from cities, where food stamp use was highest. The hope was that rural and urban lawmakers would come together to get the big bill passed.

But the SNAP map has shifted. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows that since 2012, SNAP participation is highest among households in rural areas and small towns under 2,500 people.

“It wasn't shocking or surprising,” said Ellen Vollinger, legal director of the Food Research & Action Center, or FRAC, “when you think about the degree to which SNAP is related to people being poor.”

FRAC analyzed the USDA data and found that nationally, 16 percent of households in rural areas use SNAP versus 13 percent in urban areas. The population of older people is larger in rural areas, which Vollinger said is driving the increase.

Other people in rural areas who need SNAP are low-wage workers who just don’t make enough or don’t get enough hours at work, Vollinger said, and many recipients are families with children.

About a fifth of Johnson’s store’s annual revenue comes from SNAP, he said, which is about average.

“We get different percentages from different owners,” he said, “but anywhere from say 10 percent up to about 25 percent of their sales they tell us come from those federal food assistance programs.”

The revenue that federal food aid provides for grocery stores is also helping fuel small town economies, Procter said, providing work for the electricians, carpenters and refrigerator repairers the groceries use.

USDA data shows that every dollar spent in SNAP generates up to $1.80 in economic activity in that area.

The other big winner from SNAP dollars: chain stores that cater to rural areas, like Dollar General. The USDA reports that in 2017, big-box stores like Walmart took in more than half of the $63 billion set aside for SNAP.

If the GOP were to have its way, poverty and hunger would be much worse.  Thankfully, a Democrat controlled House will protect these rural whites who stupidly vote Republican.