One way to measure the wellness of the economy is to look at how many people need to live on public assistance. The massive drop in the number of people now on food stamps is great news. It means more people can afford to put food on the table by themselves.
The Washington Free Beacon reports:
Food Stamp Rolls Decline by More Than 2 Million in FY 2017
The number of individuals receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), otherwise known as food stamps, declined by more than two million in fiscal year 2017, according to data released by the Department of Agriculture.
In fiscal year 2016, the number of individuals receiving benefits from the food stamp program totaled 44,219,363. In 2017, that number dropped to 42,182,443—a decline of 2,036,920.
Food stamp participation has declined roughly 9 percent over the last four years. In fiscal year 2014, there were 46,663,872 individuals on food stamps.
Historical data show that while the program has expanded greatly over time, participation has declined as of late. The USDA has been tracking data on SNAP participation since fiscal year 1969, at which time average participation in the program stood at about 2,878,000. This means that since then, participation in the program has increased 14-fold.
The data indicate that food stamp participation peaked in year 2013, when there was an average of 47,636,000 individuals benefiting from the program.
If the economy keeps booming, the number of people using food stamps should continue to drop!
Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please hover over that comment, click the ∨ icon, and mark it as spam. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.