Newt continues to spew his nonsense about food stamps (SNAP benefits), calling Obama the “food stamp president” and claiming he has put more people on food stamps than any other president. Well, luckily the good folks at the USDA keep data on this kind of thing, so I think I’ll use it to make a chart. Here’s the number of people receiving SNAP benefits from the beginning of the Bush 1 administration through today, by Presidency:
Data from USDA FNS
Looking solely at the total number of people enrolled in the program, you will see Gingrich is just barely correct. Under Bush 1, enrollment increased by 7.3 million people. Clinton reduced it by 9.8 million, GW Bush increased it by 10.9 million, and Obama increased it by 11.2 million.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. The upward trend were currently seeing, and the reason enrollment has risen so high under Obama, began during the Bush administration in 2007 – 2008! What ever could have happened around then that would cause people to need help affording food? Oh right, the bottom fell out of the economy, and it shrank by 9%! To claim Obama is responsible for a trend that began during the Bush administration is ridiculous. Enrollment in these programs is a function of the economy, presidents (Bush, Obama, or any others) don’t “put people on food stamps”.
And regarding the racial breakdown of SNAP beneficiaries, Ezra Klein points out:
about 34 percent of beneficiaries are white, 22 percent are black, 17 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian or Native American, and 20 percent “race unknown.”
And finally, my own personal pet peeve: the idea that receiving SNAP benefits will cause someone to not work because they’re perfectly happy living on the government’s dime. According to USDA data, in 2010 30% of beneficiaries had jobs. The money they received from the program was, as its very name implies, supplemental assistance. And lest you think that this number has decreased to 30% as Obama’s socialism has turned us all into lazy welfare queens, the precentage of beneficiaries with jobs has more than tripled since 1990.
But why is that? Why is it simply not true that SNAP stops people from wanting to find gainful employment? In 2011, the average monthly benefit per person was at its historic high, clocking in at a whopping $133.85, or $4.37 a day.
So next time someone tells you that people on food stamps just don’t want to work, challenge them to eat for less than 4.4o a day.
520 Chestnut 
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