Getting Behind by Getting Ahead, continued

Last week I linked to an OK Policy post about “cliff effects” that reduce or disqualify people for benefits whenever they increase their earnings, sometimes leaving people even farther behind even as they get better jobs or benefits.
The Associated Press reports that ARRA, the stimulus legislation, is causing some cliff effects of its own, and [...]

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Food Stamps Enrollees Approach Record Numbers

A few days ago I mentioned that Oklahoma was holding somewhat steady in the face of the economic downturn, with several indicators worsening but not horrible. I meant to write that it felt like being in the calm before the storm, to make it clear that I wasn’t arguing that Oklahoma would escape the recession.
So [...]

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Food Stamps Not Enough

Ezra Klein remarks that it seems wild to him that 1 in 9 Americans receive food stamps. “Not only are 31.5 million Americans eligible for food stamps. But 31.5 million are facing such grueling economic stress that they were willing to enroll in the food stamp program.”
At the same time, he points out, the benefit [...]

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Doubling Down on Nutrition

The Nudge blog digs up a story from the Washington Post about reforming the food stamps program to better promote nutrition. Many anti-hunger advocates have opposed placing restrictions on the use of food stamps based on nutritional content, arguing that it’s too difficult to classify so many foods and that many food stamps recipients have [...]

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