PolitiFact: Minimum wage won't get you off food stamps
Last edited Sun Feb 12, 2017, 06:59 PM - Edit history (1)
Pitching for a raise in the minimum wage, a labor leader suggested an increase could save all Texans money by elevating low-income workers who’d no longer need government help.
We don’t know about that. But we flipped on the Texas Truth-O-Meter after John Patrick, president of the Texas AFL-CIO, said at a Capitol press conference: “If you have a family, the current minimum wage easily qualifies you for food stamps.”
Really?
“Food stamps” is an outdated term referring to food benefits available to income-eligible residents through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Beneficiaries purchase food and groceries using electronic benefit transfer cards.
Nationally in 2015, an average of about 45.8 million people in 22.5 million households monthly participated in SNAP, according to the federal government, and, because benefits are available to most low-income households, participants represent a broad cross-section of the nation’s poor.
Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/politifact-minimum-wage-won-get-you-off-food-stamps/xdJzAsjMSXzKzYgT5Dn9QI/
