Impact of Food Stamps on the Economy

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The Impact of Food Stamps on the U.S. Economy In every economy, the same factors assist in the overall outcome of things, such as the national debt or the country’s national gross product. These factors are generally the net income of the population, money spent such as any government funded organization, i.e. the military, and money borrowed or debt. Deeper inside of an economy are even more complex situations and additional government funded programs. Of these, one in particular is overly abused and tends to drag the United States’ economy down even further. Government funded food stamps, which are one of many leading factors of the debt crisis, were implemented as a plan to indirectly stimulate the economy by giving disadvantaged families a chance to get on their feet. This would eventually lead to them returning what money they were given to the system via taxes and facilitate the trickling-down of money, which would in turn help others in similar situations. Despite such a brilliant plan, this program quickly went awry and has caused economic turbulence since its implementation. The United States has racked up an astronomical amount of debt over the years. According to the Federal Reserve, the total net worth of the United States is $70 trillion (McCarthy 29-33). Even though the U.S. has the single largest economy in the world, the accumulated debt from the U.S. government’s annual spending is now $15 trillion dollars and projected to hit $22 trillion within a decade (McCarthy 29-33). As of October 1, 2008, the official name for “food stamps” became the acronym S.N.A.P. (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). This program is one of the nation's largest federal welfare programs, second only to Medicaid, with an estimated cost of $800 billion over the next 10 years (Hudson 10). The economy is constantly trying to recover and yet the overuse of
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