Spike That Email About Welfare And Work; Fact-Checkers Say It's Not True

Mark Memmott — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:36:00 +0000

If you've gotten the "Death Spiral" email that's apparently been arriving in many inboxes, here's the verdict from two major, nonpartisan fact checkers:

It is NOT true, as the email claims, that in 11 states there are more people on welfare than there are working.

The debunkers: both PolitiFact.com and FactCheck.org.

First, some background:

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Farm Bill Becomes Fodder In 'Fiscal Cliff' Wrangling

Brian Naylor — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 08:32:00 +0000
Among the loose ends that lawmakers would like to tie up before the end of this lame-duck session is the farm bill, which is made up mostly of crop subsidies and food stamps.
The last farm bill expired in September. The Senate has passed a new one; the House has not. Farm-state lawmakers are urging leaders to include a farm bill as part of any budget deal to avert year-end tax increases and spending cuts.
But not everyone thinks that's a good idea.
Among those pushing for action on the farm bill is the Connecticut-based nonprofit Wholesome Wave.

Living On Food Stamps: Newark Mayor Cory Booker Starts Challenge Today

Mark Memmott — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:09:00 +0000
A campaign to raise awareness about the struggles of low-income Americans who depend on food stamps gets a high-profile plug today as Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., begins a week of living on $30 worth of food.
The Democratic politician took up the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge after getting into a discussion with a fellow Twitter user about "the role the government should play in funding school breakfast and lunch programs," food insecure." That's about the same level as in 2010, but still far higher than before the recession.

Nearly 18 Million U.S. Households Had Trouble Getting Food Last Year

Mark Memmott — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 13:39:00 +0000
An estimated 14.9 percent of U.S. households — 17.9 million in total — "had difficulty" at some point last year getting food because they just didn't have enough money or other resources, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this morning.
In 2010, 14.5 percent of households were similarly "food insecure" at some point, USDA says.
Even worse:
"In 2011, 5.7 percent of U.S. households (6.8 million households and one-third of all food-insecure households) had very low food security.

SNAP (Food Stamps)

Spike That Email About Welfare And Work; Fact-Checkers Say It's Not True

Farm Bill Becomes Fodder In 'Fiscal Cliff' Wrangling

Living On Food Stamps: Newark Mayor Cory Booker Starts Challenge Today

Nearly 18 Million U.S. Households Had Trouble Getting Food Last Year