On June 4, 2007, Representative Jan Schakowsky appeared on The Cobert Report and spoke with host Stephen Cobert about the Food Stamp Challenge she just completed, along with her colleagues Reps. Jim McGovern, Tim Ryan and Jo Ann Emerson. Each of them lived on $3 per day for one week, the average food stamp benefit.
To watch the Cobert Report:
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml
Under the “Most Recent Videos” section, scroll down to what is currently the 4th video titled “Rep. Jan Schakowsky.”
Since the food stamp program is designed as a "safety net," according to the Congressional Food Stamp Budget Challenge Registration form, are those enrolled in the Food Stamp Program really living off $3 per day? Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky said in her interview on The Colbert Report that most enrollees have outside incomes. How then, can she claim the participants are forced to live off $3 a day? By design, the program is only supposed to subsidize other forms of income to help sustain those enrolled and according to Schakowsky, that's exactly what the program is doing. Some participants may be forced to live off that insufficient amount, but giving a general increase across the board to all enrollees is not the answer. Even though I am not a proponent of the program, an increase in the allotment of Food Stamps should be decided case by case because otherwise the government will run into fraud with people claiming they need more money when in fact they don't.
Posted by: Nathan | June 05, 2007 at 10:30 AM