Walker food stamp plan puts mean-spirited ideology before taxpayers, common sense
Madison—Governor Scott Walker wants state taxpayers to pay an extra $16.7 million per year on his plan to take food off the tables of 31,350 low-income Wisconsinites.
Madison—Governor Scott Walker wants state taxpayers to pay an extra $16.7 million per year on his plan to take food off the tables of 31,350 low-income Wisconsinites.
Walker is proposing that about 62,700 able-bodied recipients of food stamps do at least 20 hours of job training or searches per week to continue receiving benefits, at a time when the state ranks 44th nationally in job creation. Nonpartisan budget analysts project that half of these food stamp recipients, or 31,350 people, will not be able to meet the new requirements, causing them to lose their benefits. As a result, $71.9 million in benefits will be sent back to the federal government that otherwise would have been spent in local grocery stores across Wisconsin. Moreover, Walker’s plan costs state taxpayers an additional $16.7 million per year in administrative expenses.
The legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is scheduled to vote today on Walker’s Food Share plan. Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), member of the finance committee, issued the following statement prior to the vote.
“This is yet another example of Governor Walker putting his mean-spirited ideology before Wisconsin taxpayers and common sense. Forcing taxpayers to pay more for less never makes sense, but when it means taking food away from our struggling neighbors and friends, that’s unconscionable. At a time when Wisconsin ranks 44th in the country in job creation, we should be focused on turning the state’s economy around not creating unreasonable roadblocks that do nothing more than punish those who’ve run into a rough patch.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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