Amelia Kegan on the Role of Poverty in the Upcoming Elections
Amelia Kegan, senior policy analyst at Bread for the World, attended a panel discussion with Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity to discuss how poverty and hunger will affect teh conversations in the upcoming elections.
In an interview, Kegan emphasized that poverty is not a partisan issue:
Poverty really has to be an issue that politicians take seriously and really address. Hopefully we can see that Americans really value and are going to [be] considering and listening for the candidates to address [poverty] through the 2012 elections. In today’s political climate, everything is often times so partisan and so polarizing. As we saw from the panelists today, [poverty] really is an issue that everyone can get behind and everyone should be able to support.
Watch her video interviews with the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity below and read her reflection on study findings that say 88 percent of surveyed voters said a presidential candidate’s position on poverty is important in deciding their vote, and nearly half (45 percent) said the issue is "very important."
+Learn more about poverty in the United States and how you can take action.
Hunger Doesn’t Discriminate Based on Party Affiliation
Despite perceptions and suggestions to the contrary, we know that the circumstances that lead people and families to enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) don’t discriminate based on race. And as we profiled earlier, an ever-growing number of families on the program are working.
Add this: Though a breakdown of participation based on political affiliation doesn’t exist to our knowledge, we have no reason to believe that people struggling in this economy are disproportionately Democrats, Republicans, or otherwise. Consider the story of Susie, a 59-year-old Florida woman who lost her business during the recession:
"I am a Republican and a conservative ... and I had to swallow my pride today and come in and apply for benefits for the first time because I'm losing weight," Susie said.
Even if you brush the moral case for SNAP aside, candidates ought to take note of the sheer political calculus that there’s a growing proportion of the American electorate for whom SNAP is the difference between having just barely enough to eat and going hungry.
Matt Newell-Ching is a regional organizer at Bread for the World.
Photo caption: Alex Morris feeds her son, André, in their Bend, OR, home. Alex depends on SNAP, WIC and other programs to care for André, who suffers from a serious medical condition that affects his hormonal system. Photo by Brad Horn for Bread for the World.
Gabriel Salguero: What Do Latino Evangelical Voters Want?
Photo by Flickr user √oхέƒx™
[This blog post is an excerpt from an article written by Bread for the World board member Gabriel Salguero, president of that National Latino Evangelical Coalition. The full article is available on The Washington Post.]
It may come as a surprise to you to learn that Hispanic evangelicals are a key constituency in swing states. The Jan 31 Florida primary has hastened an all-out blitz for this group’s attention. What do Hispanic evangelicals want from a presidential candidate?
Since our coalition of Latino evangelicals launched a national voter registration campaign, I have fielded multiple interviews about this growing--and increasingly politically influential--demographic. As many have noted, historically, Hispanic evangelicals are social conservatives that simultaneously advocate for issues of justice for the most vulnerable. Anyone who ignores this reality, particularly in swing states like Nevada, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Ohio, has not understood this emerging and increasingly vocal group. As a group, we are quintessential independent voters.
In 2004, George W. Bush won the majority of Hispanic evangelicals and in 2008 Barack Obama won that vote by a slim majority. Now in 2012, politicians, pundits, and prognosticators want to know which way we will lean. I’d like to recommend a way forward.
Hispanic evangelicals are not a monolith. Moreover, it would be the height of hubris for anyone to claim to speak for the 10 million or so Latino evangelicals. I personally agree with David Neff of “Christianity Today” that we as evangelicals should resist the temptation to try to be kingmakers. There is much seduction in the “will to power” and we should run away as fast as they can from this temptation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was correct, when he wrote: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, it must be the guide and critic of the state and never its tool”(Strength to Love, 1963). Hispanic evangelicals should simultaneously bring moral and public pressure to bear on behalf of legislation we feel is consonant with our conscience and convictions. Our community should work hard to develop our own national agenda that holds all candidates accountable. In short, we should shy away from endorsing candidates --while backing agendas that are consonant with our worldview.
So what are Hispanic evangelicals passionate about? In 2012, many Latinos in Pentecostal and evangelical congregations have divided allegiances. On the top of their mutual agendas is humane, common sense immigration reform. This is a moral and family values issue. We take “welcome the stranger and love your neighbor” seriously. We are looking for legislation that provides an earned path to citizenship and keeps families together. This type of legislation has been endorsed by presidents from Reagan to Obama and yet nothing has changed. Both parties have lacked the political will to make policy changes that will impact Latino families in profound ways.
To say Latino evangelicals are disappointed by this inaction is a severe understatement. Moreover, the rhetoric by some GOP candidates to veto a DREAM Act or to not provide a path to earned citizenship for the 12 million illegal and undocumented immigrants is raising the ire of many Latino pastors. Our message to the GOP is to stop the anti-immigrant rhetoric. Meanwhile, this present administration’s spike in deportations has left us disillusioned with the left. In short, Hispanic evangelicals want real solutions now and they want both parties to be accountable.
On the social issues Latino evangelicals overwhelmingly hold to a pro-life and pro-marriage platform. This is no secret. Latino evangelicals have historically been social conservatives on the issues of marriage and what Catholics call a “seamless garment” of life. This means that many Latino evangelicals advocate for a broad agenda that protects children--both before birth and after. We are thoroughly concerned about the health of the most vulnerable.
While Hispanic evangelicals are for the most part social conservatives, they also value the power of good governance on behalf of the ones Jesus called, “the least of these.” Many Hispanic evangelicals, myself included, signed-on to the Circle of Protection to protect programs for the poorest and most vulnerable in our country. In addition, we realize that the global economic recession has displaced thousands of Latinos from homes in the foreclosure crisis. Latinos look for a government that understands that among the things the Constitution calls for is that the government “promote the general welfare.” This is at the heart of Latino evangelicals’ advocacy for anti-poverty programs at home and abroad, immigration reform, and educational equity. Pew researchers have said that Latino evangelicals are “big government social conservatives.” I would say we are people who seek the common good. ...
[Keep reading this article on The Washington Post.]
Gabriel Salguero is a board member at Bread for the World and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
HungerQOTD: Robert Alan Silverstein
A young girl sells oranges in the market in Lusaka, Zambia. Photo by Margaret W. Nea
"Those who wish for a more peaceful, just and sustainable world are helping to make ending world hunger a major priority... Together we can end hunger."
-Robert Alan Silverstein
Just a Tweet Away with @DavidBeckmann #WEF
Photo by Flickr user World Economic Forum
Yesterday, David Beckmann tweeted: “I’ve been invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos this year.” (Follow @DavidBeckmann on Twitter.)
Since a portion of my day is spent facilitating the @bread4theworld twitter feed, I wondered if our twitter followers, me included, know why Davos is so important. So I set out this morning to do a little online investigating and this is what I’ve learned:
- The World Economic Forum (WEF) has taken place in Davos, Switzerland, since 1971. This year, the WEF is happening from January 25 to 29.
- In attendance are more than just government officials, but also academics, business representatives, journalists, religious leaders and other dignitaries. The meetings create a cross-pollination of ideas to address the world’s economic and social problems.
- Transformational programs around poverty have been launched at past meetings, such as the Global Health Initiative (GHI), a program through which the U.S. government supports the work of Scaling Up Nutrition, a program that Bread for the World is mobilizing around in this year’s Offering of Letters.
Still, I wasn’t sure I understood why I should care about what is happening at Davos this week, so I asked my friend, Bread for the World Institute’s policy analyst Faustine Wabwire. Faustine pointed out that with competing interests in these tough economic times, global food security needs a strong voice and a renewed commitment from world leaders. “Investing in long-term development requires long-term, sustained commitment from national governments and the international donor community,” Faustine said. “As our leaders meet in Davos, we are reminding them to follow through on the commitments they have made in the fight against hunger, poverty, and disease.”
So I’ll be following @DavidBeckmann this week (and the hashtag #WEF) as he navigates the conversations with an ear toward solutions to end hunger and poverty. Be sure to follow us at @bread4theworld, where we will be posting different opportunities for you to include your voice and remind leaders that their choices can indeed make a world of difference.
Robin Stephenson is a regional organizer at Bread for the World.
Five Things You Probably Don't Know About Food Stamps
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is in the news these days because of comments made by some Republican presidential candidates. Below are five things you probably don’t know about the program.
- A large and growing share of SNAP households are working households(see chart). In 2010, more than three times as many SNAP households worked as relied solely on welfare benefits for their income.
The share of SNAP households with earnings has continued growing in the past few years — albeit at a slower pace — despite the large increase in unemployment.
One reason why SNAP is serving more working families is that, for a growing share of the nation’s workers, having a job has not been enough to keep them out of poverty.
- SNAP responded quickly and effectively to the recession. SNAP spending rose considerably when the recession hit. That’s precisely what SNAP was designed to do: respond quickly to help more low-income families during economic downturns as poverty rises, unemployment mounts, and more people need assistance. In 2010, for example, SNAP kept more than 5 million people out of poverty and lessened the severity of poverty for millions of others, under a poverty measure that counts SNAP benefits as income.
Economists consider SNAP one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, so SNAP’s quick response to the recession — as well as a temporary benefit increase enacted in the 2009 Recovery Act — helped the broader economy. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) rated an increase in SNAP benefits as one of the two most cost-effective of all spending and tax options it examined for boosting growth and jobs in a weak economy.
Converting SNAP to a block grant, as some have proposed, would largely destroy its ability to respond to rising need during future recessions, forcing states to cut benefits or create waiting lists for needy families.
- Today’s large SNAP caseloads mostly reflect the extraordinarily deep and prolonged recession and the weak recovery. Long-term unemployment hit record levels in 2010 and has remained extremely high. Today, 43 percent of all unemployed workers have been out of work for more than half a year; the previous post-World War II high was 26 percent in 1983.
Workers who are unemployed for a long time are more likely to deplete their assets, exhaust unemployment insurance, and turn to SNAP for help, since it is one of the few safety net programs available for many long-term unemployed workers. In most states, other programs — such as cash assistance under theTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state General Assistanceprograms — haven’t responded effectively to rising need during the recession.
More than one in five workers who had been unemployed for over six months received SNAP in 2010, according to Congress’s Joint Economic Committee.
- SNAP has one of the most rigorous quality control systems of any public benefit program. Each year states pull a representative sample (totaling about 50,000 cases nationally) and thoroughly review the accuracy of their eligibility and benefit decisions. Federal officials re-review a subsample of the cases to ensure accuracy in the error rates. States are subject to fiscal penalties if their error rates are persistently higher than the national average.
In 2010, only 3 percent of payments went to ineligible households or to eligible households but in excessive amounts. Payment accuracy has continued to improve in the past few years, despite the large increase in SNAP enrollment. - SNAP’s recent growth is temporary. CBO predicts that SNAP spending will fall as a share of the economy as the economy recovers and the Recovery Act benefit increases expire (see chart). By 2021, SNAP is expected to return nearly to pre-recession levels as a share of the economy.
Over the long term, SNAP is not growing faster than the economy. So, it is not contributing to the nation’s long-term fiscal problems.
Stacy Dean is vice president for food assistance policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. This blog post originally appeared on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' blog, Off the Charts (www.offthechartsblog.org).
Grow Dinner, Right in Your Backyard
Photo by Flickr user Southern Foodways Alliance
Many folks don’t know that recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) can use their benefits to purchase seeds and plant gardens at home. And while this can take some time and effort, the benefits far outweigh the cost, says Holly Hirschberg, founder of The Dinner Garden in San Antonio, TX, which sends people packets of seeds for free. Begun in 2008 at the height of the recession, The Dinner Garden receives thousands of requests for seeds daily from people all over the country who are struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. I spoke with Hirschberg last week to learn more about the inspiration and day-to-day operations of the Dinner Garden.
How did you start Dinner Garden?
I started the dinner garden in 2008 during the beginning of the recession. My husband lost his job and the first thing I did was plant a garden for my family. I thought that’s one last thing I’d have to worry about.
During this time, I learned that there are so many people who needed food. People who would donate food to food banks now needed the food instead of being a donor. Gas prices were $5 a gallon and people didn’t have gas money to get to the food bank, even if there was food available.
So I thought I would send seeds directly to someone’s house and they wouldn’t need gas money to pick them up and they could have a little more control about how they fed their family and take care of their family in a way that brought dignity and honor.
Where do you get funding for the Dinner Garden?
We started in the summer 2008 and started giving out seeds by January 2009. I told people about my idea and asked for donations from my friends. We bought some seeds and we had some postage money. I knew people in Michigan were having trouble so I put an ad in Craigslist asking people if they wanted any seeds. I had to take it down after a half hour because we had gotten 80 requests.
The requests were so heartfelt -- people were saying, “We’re desperate. There’s no work in Michigan.”
We sent out seeds until we ran out of postage.
What kinds of seeds to you send to your recipients?
We send out between 10 and 12 varieties. We include things that people recognize, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, and then we throw in stuff people haven’t seen before. We try to make people into lifelong gardeners, and we are also trying to help people expand their diet and be healthier, and that comes from being exposed to new things.
How did you find out that SNAP recipients can use their benefits to purchase seeds?
It seemed like a lot of our clients were on food stamps, so we thought it would be great to let people know and we have the means to get that information to the people who are going to use it.
And while working people might think they don’t have time to garden, I believe gardening has evolved with a lot of innovation that don’t require you to do what you used to have to do. Seeds are going to grow. Put them in the ground at the right time with sun, water, and soil and they are going to grow.
Jeannie Choi is associate editor at Bread for the World.
Hunger QOTD: Lesley Boone
Photo by Flickr user limaoscarjuliet
"We are a country that prides itself on power and wealth, yet there are millions of children who go hungry every day. It is our responsibility, not only as a nation, but also as individuals, to get involved. So, next time you pass someone on the street who is in need, remember how lucky you are, and don't turn away."
-Lesley Boone
Hunger QOTD: Harry Emerson Fosdick
Photo by Flickr user EmsiProduction
"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it."
-Harry Emerson Fosdick
Dear Candidate, Where Do You Stand on Poverty? 88 Percent of Voters Want to Know.
What surprises you more: the fact that more than one in seven people in this country live in poverty (with more than 25 percent of children under age 5 in poverty)[i], or the fact that 88 percent of voters say a candidate’s position on poverty is important in deciding their vote? According to a new poll by McLaughlin and Associates released Tuesday at the Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity forum, when participants were asked, how important a candidate’s position on poverty was when deciding their vote for president, 88 percent said a candidate’s position is important in deciding their vote, and nearly half (45 percent) said the issue is "very important."
Given how little media attention poverty gets and how we so rarely hear candidates speak honestly about issues of hunger and poverty, these statistics took me by surprise. But I suppose I shouldn’t have been. At Bread for the World, we’ve known for a long time that people care about hunger and poverty. High levels of poverty and our commitment to ending it says something about ourselves as a country.
I also shouldn’t be surprised because hunger and poverty have no party. This is not a partisan issue; it is a moral one. This is about getting breakfast to kids so they can learn in school and perform well on their tests. This is about ensuring that a parent working full time at minimum wage is able to provide for his/her children and put food on the table. This is about ensuring that the poorest people on earth are able to eat each day. This is about creating opportunity for our children.
On Tuesday, Bread for the World launched our 2012 Offering of Letters Campaign, which urges Congress and the White House to create a circle of protection around programs for hungry and poor people. Calling for a circle of protection embodies an idea that is so fundamental to our society and our values as a country that it is something everyone can get behind, regardless of political identification, geographic location, or religious affiliation. As the McLaughlin poll demonstrates, a majority of voters, regardless of party affiliation, are concerned with supporting hungry and poor people.
Given that 88 percent of voters care about a candidate’s position on poverty, Bread for the World members and people of faith around the country should be determined and confident in raising hunger and poverty as issues with candidates in the 2012 elections. Go to candidate forums and boldly ask those running for office, “If elected will you commit to forming a circle of protection around programs for hungry and poor people?” Write to your local papers. Make hunger and poverty key election issues, and you can be confident that 88 percent of voters will be right there with you, listening for candidates’ answers.
[i] U.S. Census Bureau, poverty numbers for 2010. The poverty line in 2010 was $22,113 for a family of four.
Amelia Kegan is senior policy analyst at Bread for the World.
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