Food Stamp and Social Security

¶ … Food Stamp and Social Security Program

Food Stamp Program

The eligibility and the actual usage rate varied from state to state in 2008. A statistics provided by USDA (2010) shows that out of the 41,055,000 people eligible for the food stamp program, 67% of the population made use of it. There was a wide variation between the regional usage of this program. The Midwest region had the highest number of people using this program and this rate was 77%. This region was followed by the Southeast and Northeast region that had 71% of users. The Western region ranked the lowest with just 60% of the eligible population using the food stamp program. The second lowest was the Southwest region where 63% of eligible population used this program. The Mid-Atlantic region had 70% of usage while the Mountain Plains region had 69%.

Among the working poor who were eligible for this program, the national average is 54% with an estimated 19,685,000 people using the program. The numbers varied greatly from state to state with twenty-seven states recording more than the average and thirteen states had rates that were lower than the average. Out of these, West Virginia was the highest with 91% of 113,000 people using the program and California was the lowest with just 31%.

An analysis of the two statistics mentioned above shows a clear picture. Out of the total number of people who used the program, only 54% were poor and there is a difference of 12% of the people who used the program but they are not categorized as poor. In fact, no state recorded a higher rate of the working poor over the total number of eligible people. This brings us to the question of the effectiveness of the program. This has been used as a safety net by many people and they have come to increasingly rely on it as a means to obtain food.

On the other hand, this program has also helped millions of Americans to live. The current economic recession has seen these levels increase to new heights and it has helped many families to provide food for themselves and their family. It is estimated that in 2009, it provided food to one out of every eight Americans and one out of every four children. (New York Times, 2009).

In short, from the data it can be concluded that it helped a good percentage of population to weather their economic problems and it reached out to people who were really in need. Though it was misused by a handful percentage of the population, this number is too insignificant to stop the program completely. A better solution would be come up with a comprehensive way to ensure that only the needy get it. Also, this should be seen as a short-term solution for people who are temporarily out of jobs in the U.S. And not as a long-term means to living comfortably.

Social Security Benefits

Social security benefits help many elderly and disabled people to live a reasonable life. In 2010, more than 53 million Americans received social security benefits that amount to a whopping $703 billion. Out of these, 34 million retired workers accounted for $40 billion and $1.7 billion went to 2.9 dependents of retired workers at an average amount of $1,170 per month. The eight million disabled workers and their $1.9 billion dependents received an average of $1,065 per month and this amounted to $8.5 billion and $0.6 billion respectively. The remaining $6.3 billion went to 6.4 million survivors at an average monthly benefit of $1,129. (Social Security Administration USA, 2010).

The Social Security Administration of the U.S. estimates that nine out of ten individuals who are 65 years and older receive social security benefits and this money accounts for about 40% of their income. The retired workers along with their dependents account for 69% of the benefits and this provides them a stable income in their older age. However, the average retirement age has increased to 70 for most people because of economic necessity and choice. (Trumball, 2011). This brings us to the question of social security benefits and medicare for the elderly. Also, for the first time, it is estimated that older people will outnumber children by 2045 and there will be fewer people to support this older population. Currently, 2.6 workers pay for one beneficiary and this is expected to decrease to 2.1 by 2045. Therefore, the Congress has to make some sweeping changes to the way this money is disbursed to the needy elderly.