In 4-1/2 Years, 10 Million Private-Sector Jobs — and 7 Million More on Food Stamps

September 9th, 2014 2:11 PM

The press is good at putting the most positive spin possible on the monthly job-market news. But at the same time, many of its members still claim that food stamp enrollment remains as high as it is because of the lingering effects of the (Bush did it) recession.

On Friday, following the release of August's employment numbers, Obama administration Labor Secretary Tom Perez celebrated how "businesses have added more than 10 million jobs over the last four and a half years," and have done so for "54 consecutive months of private-sector job growth, the longest streak on record." All true, though average job growth during that time has resembled an underperforming baseball player who somehow manages to go 1-for-5 or barely better every day. Meanwhile, food stamp enrollment has increased by 6.8 million.

More specifically, the food stamp rolls, which stood at 32.2 million when Barack Obama took office, increased dramatically, from 39.7 million in February 2010 to a peak of 47.8 million in December 2012, before falling ever so slightly during 2013.

In a report released Friday which the press has almost completely ignored, the USDA's numbers indicated that enrollment may again be heading for another significant increase. June's total of 46.5 million was about 400,000 higher than the level seen three months earlier.

Starting with February 2010, the first month of post-recession private-sector job growth, as the base, here is how such employment and food stamp enrollment have changed:

FoodStampsAndJobGrowth0210to0614

With all those seasonally adjusted jobs continually being added, why is food stamp enrollment still stubbornly high?

A USA Today report in mid-August got to some of the answers, but far from all (bolds are mine):

Food stamp use shows continued 'underemployment' pain

... A key indicator of economic hardship—enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps—is higher in every state than it was five years ago, even though unemployment has dropped in every state during the same period.

Economists say the official unemployment rate underestimates economic pain, since it doesn't include people who have stopped looking for work or who are barely getting by with part-time or low-paying jobs.

... Much of the discrepancy between improving employment news and continued economic suffering, as measured by food stamp use, is due to people who may be employed but making far less than they were before the recession.

... Since food stamps are federally-funded but administered by states, participation also can reflect how successful a state has been at signing up those who are eligible, including jobless workers. "If you look at areas that were especially impacted by the recession, you'll see some have really aggressively pushed to boost participation," said Jennifer Adach, a spokeswoman for FRAC (the liberal Food Research and Action Center).

... LAX OVERSIGHT?

Not all of the increase in food stamp usage is a reflection of economic pain, however. A 2013USDA report recommended states take additional anti-fraud measures, such as checking on excessive new card requests, which could indicate illegal selling or swapping of benefit cards. The report found that illegal sales and trading is small, about 1 percent of total benefits, but it is growing as more small stores get permission to accept them.

In Louisiana, a legislative audit found that about $1.3 million in benefits went to dead people and recommended more checking against death records and more aggressive attempts to recover misspent money after deaths are discovered. During the period of the audit, the state disbursed $1.08 billion in food stamp benefits. New York included a provision in this year's budget setting stiff penalties for using or accepting food stamp money in strip clubs, liquor stores or casinos.

But for all those who game the system, there are many more people who could legitimately qualify for food stamps but choose not to enroll in the program.

I believe the USA Today item understated the actual occurrence of fraud, simply because law enforcement can't possibly be catching all of it.

The USA Today reporte also ignored three important factors the press always seems to overlook.

The first is that over 30 states have eliminated their "asset test," meaning that even well-off people with significant resources can qualify if they lose their jobs. The second is that most states have raised the income thresholds for qualifying, to as high as 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Finally, 40 states have incorporated "categorical eligibility" into the approval process, meaning that "any person or household that received cash aid or any other service" would automatically qualify.

We can expect that the press will continue to ignore these major reasons why food stamp enrollment first exploded, and now remains stubbornly high, and that their two contradictory memes will continue with relatively little cross-examination. The first is that "The U.S. job market has steadily improved by pretty much every gauge except ... Pay" (Christopher Rugaber at the Associated Press actually wrote that on Monday). The second, designed to insulate the program from any attempts at seriously reining it in, is how how the recession's ill effects are supposedly still affecting Americans who depend on food stamps to survive.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.