Increased Food Stamp Funding to Feed Pocketbooks and Fill Stomachs by Nydia Velazquez
August 11th, 2008
To say that America’s economy is struggling would be an understatement. In the face of a crumbling housing market and spiraling energy prices, we are now mired in what can only be described as a crippling recession. As we learned last month, the recent stimulus package provided a needed financial lift, boosting the GDP by 1.9 percent. This is a modest, though encouraging gain. But while the tax rebates have helped to stem some of the devastation, we New Yorkers are not yet out of the woods.
According to an Aug. 1 report by the Department of Labor, July saw unemployment rates reach 5.7 percent—their highest point in four years. To make matters worse, growing joblessness is now coupled with skyrocketing food costs. With the price of staples, like milk, up 30 percent, New York’s unemployed are straining to do more than make ends meet: they are struggling to keep food on the table.
Fifty-five percent of New Yorkers now say food prices have stretched their budgets to the breaking point. In the past, cash-strapped Americans have been able to fall back on food stamps. But that was in a period of economic growth, during which—for most of our unemployed—new jobs were just around the corner. Today, it often takes six months or longer for Americans to find new work. And with food stamps limited to 12-week installments, many people will run out of meals before they get their next paycheck.
But even as the country weathers the blows of recession, New Yorkers should rest assured: there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Unlike the last stimulus, however, new legislative action should not come in the form of tax rebates. Instead, food stamp extensions would help to stanch the continuing downturn.
Stretching food stamps would both feed the unemployed and drive millions of dollars back into the economy. With this in mind, I recently introduced a new food stamp initiative, the Food Security Act. The legislation targets able-bodied adults without dependents, and will extend benefits from three months to 12. In doing so, it promises to rejuvenate the New York marketplace, while at the same time ensuring that job seekers don’t go hungry.
I believe food stamps make both moral and economic sense, and a number of leading economists agree. Last month, in testimony before the House Committee on Small Business, (of which I am chair), Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com, voiced his support for the initiative.
“Extending food stamps are the most effective ways to prime the economy’s pump,” he said.
And in fact, every additional dollar in food stamps would spark a $1.73 boost in the GDP. That’s a return of almost two times the original investment.
What is more, food stamp dollars are almost immediately absorbed back into the market. So instead of waiting for taxpayers to spend their stimulus checks on plasma TVs or dinners out, we can enjoy the effects almost right away. This is exactly the kind of stimulus New York—and America—needs: a quick jolt to the economy that doesn’t rely on trickle-down spending.
In light of the ongoing recession, Congress is now considering a second round of incentives. It is critical that any legislation include provisions for food stamps, which would pump more money into the GDP than any other potential stimulus. Already, food stamps are bringing New York’s economy back on track, and they are feeding more than just our empty pocket books. They are filling empty stomachs, too.
Nydia Velázquez is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens in Congress.
According to an Aug. 1 report by the Department of Labor, July saw unemployment rates reach 5.7 percent—their highest point in four years. To make matters worse, growing joblessness is now coupled with skyrocketing food costs. With the price of staples, like milk, up 30 percent, New York’s unemployed are straining to do more than make ends meet: they are struggling to keep food on the table.
Fifty-five percent of New Yorkers now say food prices have stretched their budgets to the breaking point. In the past, cash-strapped Americans have been able to fall back on food stamps. But that was in a period of economic growth, during which—for most of our unemployed—new jobs were just around the corner. Today, it often takes six months or longer for Americans to find new work. And with food stamps limited to 12-week installments, many people will run out of meals before they get their next paycheck.
But even as the country weathers the blows of recession, New Yorkers should rest assured: there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Unlike the last stimulus, however, new legislative action should not come in the form of tax rebates. Instead, food stamp extensions would help to stanch the continuing downturn.
Stretching food stamps would both feed the unemployed and drive millions of dollars back into the economy. With this in mind, I recently introduced a new food stamp initiative, the Food Security Act. The legislation targets able-bodied adults without dependents, and will extend benefits from three months to 12. In doing so, it promises to rejuvenate the New York marketplace, while at the same time ensuring that job seekers don’t go hungry.
I believe food stamps make both moral and economic sense, and a number of leading economists agree. Last month, in testimony before the House Committee on Small Business, (of which I am chair), Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com, voiced his support for the initiative.
“Extending food stamps are the most effective ways to prime the economy’s pump,” he said.
And in fact, every additional dollar in food stamps would spark a $1.73 boost in the GDP. That’s a return of almost two times the original investment.
What is more, food stamp dollars are almost immediately absorbed back into the market. So instead of waiting for taxpayers to spend their stimulus checks on plasma TVs or dinners out, we can enjoy the effects almost right away. This is exactly the kind of stimulus New York—and America—needs: a quick jolt to the economy that doesn’t rely on trickle-down spending.
In light of the ongoing recession, Congress is now considering a second round of incentives. It is critical that any legislation include provisions for food stamps, which would pump more money into the GDP than any other potential stimulus. Already, food stamps are bringing New York’s economy back on track, and they are feeding more than just our empty pocket books. They are filling empty stomachs, too.
Nydia Velázquez is a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens in Congress.
