James Morley
04/10/11
Intro To Journalism
Heather Chaplin
Food Stamps and Government Financial Aid Cutbacks In New York City
On the 20th Of March New York Times Reporter Sam Roberts published a 750-word article in the N.Y./Region section of the online Times’ titled Food Stamps and Tax Aid Kept Poverty Rate in Check[1] which largely summarized the views of Dr. Mark Levitan, the director of poverty research of New York City, and the reasoning behind his prospective cutbacks for both food stamps and tax aid.
The OTDA (Office of Temporary and Disability Assistant) specifies an individual with a monthly gross income of less than $1174 is a potentially eligible candidate for Food Stamps in the NY State region. The maximum potential allotment for one individual is $200 per month. The OTDA also stipulates that most able-bodied students ages 18 through 49 who are enrolled at least half-time in college or other institution of higher education are not eligible for food stamps.
Dr. Leviathan’s policy concerning the future of government plans for Food Stamps and Tax Aid “…calls for across-the-board cutbacks to programs that help low-income families [that] cannot be justified by the assertion that when it comes to poverty, ‘nothing works.’” Roberts largely chalks the sudden withdrawal of government support from the program to the “recession… [and it being]… shorter and less severe in the city.” When asked the reasoning behind the government planning to withdraw support from financial aid Dr. Leviathan commented that not every antipoverty program meets its goals and deserves to be protected.
In an interview with Daniel Scheer, a City Research Scientist and co-author of A Working Paper By The NYC Center For Economic Opportunity titled Policy Affects Poverty: The CEO Poverty Measure, 2005-2009, answered questions concerning government funded welfare. Scheer begins by explaining that: the Food Stamps program receives money from the federal government… [which]…is administered through the states and cities. The work requirements and eligibility rules are not the same in all states. Scheer continues, explaining that the food stamp budget is calculated by the USDA based on the prices of food in the market place and the lowest cost for a nutritious diet. When asked how importance education played financially in the current economic environment he replied: It is hard to say exactly how much is due to the recession. It is certainly a factor. He continued that the 7.5 percent may appear high, but compared to the others it is not that bad. Poverty is still more of a factor of people with lower levels of education.
According to Scheer’s Policy Affects Poverty: The CEO Poverty Measure, 2005-2009, based on the Current Population Survey, the official U.S. poverty rate now stands at 14.3 percent, a relatively low percentage when considering how the cyclical nature of Poverty in the United States ranges roughly between the 13th and 17th percentile. He also emphasizes the likelihood that someone will be poor falls dramatically as his or her level of education rises. Scheer continues, specifying: In 2009, New Yorkers with less than a high school degree had a 30.4 percent poverty rate, while those with high school degrees were at 21.7 percent. New Yorkers with some college degree experienced 14.9 percent and those with bachelors degree or higher, 7.5 percent.
In an correspondent email interview conducted specifically for this article with a 23-year-old male with some college experience who has been on welfare for the past year agreed to answer some questions regarding food stamps though he wishes to remain anonymous. I am currently living on New York State Unemployment Insurance Benefits, so my "paycheck" is still pretty small, but it does allow me afford most of the essentials that aren't covered by my food stamps including public transportation, bills, and entertainment.
When asked about the process and difficulty of originally obtaining food stamps he responded that the process was actually quite simple and took less than half a day.
All that was required was proof of New York State residency (Apt Lease and New York State ID), proof of US citizenship (birth certificate and passport), and proof of current income (or lack thereof… at the time I was unemployed).
Within the day I had my EBT card in my hand with funds on the way for the next day; I receive roughly $200 a month, which helps me pay for the majority of my essential groceries and often times meals from the Whole Foods salad bar and deli's that accept EBT. Certainly an upgrade from his former diet of $1 pizza slices, $2 falafel sandwiches, $1 dumplings, macaroni and cheese... college kid stuff!
The anonymous interviewee got the idea to ‘sign up’ from a few friends that got on Food Stamps and mentioned how easy it was, so after doing a little research [him]self [he] decided to give it a shot. When asked how many others in his age demographic he knew about living on Food Stamps he estimated about 7-10 other kids in the US and Canada that are on some sort of government aid, but that's just a rough estimate (I think I may actually have more friends on Food Stamps than that).
Aside from physical support, concerns from councilors relating to the social and mental stress experienced by Food Stamps users and people living on Welfare. Dr. Suzzane Feinstein, A PhD working in Behavioral Health services reasons Tax Aid and Food Stamps may be helping but they are still needing services such as therapy. Transitioning into work and leaning off the government can be very taxing.
Claire Davis, A Psychologist at the NYU Health Center commented how they have support groups and individual therapy sessions for those using Food Stamps. She also stated how Food Stamps are not as uncommon as you may think. About 3% of our students are using food stamps.
Dr. Dave Haines, a graduate of Yale and A sociological expert who is simultaneously working with Harvard, Yale, and Hunter College stated it’s very difficult to explain the working poor without flooding you with statistics. Though Robert’s article Food Stamps and Tax Aid Kept Poverty Rate in Check is overwhelming due to its much-needed number heavy foundation, it is vital to the understanding of the reasoning behind the United States Government supporting Dr. Levitan’s future cutbacks in distributing financial aid to New York State. Basically, from my understanding of the recent report on food stamps and tax aid, we have made strides in the correct direction said Dr. Haines.
No comments:
Post a Comment