Food Stamp work requirement will Dramatically Hurt Farmers and Low-Income Households.

Here's what I don't get; instead of solving the root causes of social problems, Republicans go after the safety net programs put in place to help the victims of those problems. Remember "tort reform," it went after people injured or killed from medical mistakes, instead of trying to reduce those medical mistakes. The same is true of food stamps.

GOP Ideological Agenda different from Real World Problems: The lack of food and medical benefits for the poor, a problem in third world countries, is coming to the U.S.

In conjunction with the proposed $17 billion cuts to Snap in the Farm Bill, Republicans are getting waivers to institute draconian work requirements (30 hours a week in WI) that will drop many needy families.

"There is a proposal of a cut of about 17 billion to the SNAP or food stamp program over the next 10 years," said Zack Wilson, with the High Plains Food Bank. 

Work-for-Food another GOP created Problem: The GOP has been pushing this for a long time, and are now about to get their precious work requirements. But what got people on the food stamp program in the first place? Stagnant and dropping wages along with a ridiculously low minimum wage? The Great Recession that forced many big box stores and struggling manufacturers to go out of business? That was an outcome from the GOP's deregulation and voluntary regulation of Wall Street banks. So let's cut food stamps instead of tackling the reason why so many people need them:

USDA: “What would happen if funding for the Food Stamp Program were cut by $5 billion?” and “What would happen if food stamp benefits were converted from food vouchers to cash?” No matter which way the question is posed, changes in food assistance policy have effects on low-income households and the farm economy.

1. The $5 billion food stamp cut led to decreases in farm and food processing production ... approximately $1.3 billion and 7,500 jobs lost. The hardest hit farm sectors were livestock, feed crops, and fresh fruits and vegetables. 

2. The $18.5 billion food stamp cash-out led to decreases in farm and food processing production of approximately $3.5 billion and 18,500 jobs lost. Again, the hardest hit farm sectors were livestock, feed crops, and fresh fruits and vegetables. The production and job losses were distributed across the Nation.

3. The number of “working poor” increased as a result of the food stamp cut. Spurred by the reduction in food stamp benefits, low-income households sought more work hours, but, in aggregate, did not earn enough labor income to compensate for the drop in food stamp benefits.