A five-year average (2006-2010) of responses to the American Community Survey distributed by the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Bucks County third highest in per-capita income among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Montgomery County was second behind only Chester County.
Yet a new analysis by the nonprofit Public Citizens for Children and Youth gives lie to the popular notion of Bucks County “affluence.” The group’s study shows a 43 percent increase in the number of Bucks children enrolled in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) and a 45 percent jump in the number of students eligible to receive free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches in school. That’s since 2008, when the nation’s economy nose-dived.
That about 20,000 kids — 15 percent of Bucks’ under-18 population — are receiving food subsidies speaks volumes about the country and state’s lethargic, spotty economic recovery, which for many families remains a cruel rumor. The Public Citizens report says the “non-recovery” has left nearly 3,000 Bucks County children in “deep poverty,” with their parents earning less than $12,000 a year. The per-capita income for Bucks we talked about earlier is more than $35,500 annually.
The poverty figures in neighboring Montco are hardly more encouraging.
Against such a depressing backdrop, the U.S. House of Representatives’ September vote to scale back food subsidies for lower-income Americans is nothing short of unconscionable. Those cuts are on top of now-expired benefits under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Bucks Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick was one of only 15 Republicans who voted against the House bill.
Critics of so-called “government handouts” are quick to point out abuses among those receiving food assistance. No doubt such abuses do occur. But how does the cheating of some in any way justify penalizing everyone, as House Republicans are intent on doing in the name of reform? For many children of low-income families, the subsidized meals they get at school represent most or all of their daily diet. Those who so readily label SNAP an Uncle Sam giveaway should try going hungry for a few days, and remember kids who don’t get enough to eat can suffer lifelong consequences.
In the grand scheme of federal government spending, SNAP consumed just 2 percent of the federal budget in 2011. And don’t forget, the program is a godsend not only for children but for the elderly and the disabled.
How affluent is a county where so many of its young citizens barely get enough to eat? And how great is a nation whose lawmakers turn their backs on the hungry?
The Intelligencer – December 5, 2013 – Read article online