'We can barely eat': West Virginia offers a chilling preview of Trump's food stamp restrictions

[mfcorey1]

The Trump administration late last year finalized plans to enforce stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients in a move that’s estimated will kick 750,000 low-income Americans off the program.

The state of West Virginia has had similarly strict requirements on food stamps for the past few years, and the New York Times reports that this policy has increased food insecurity without having a significant impact on employment.

“We can barely eat,” West Virginia resident Chastity Peyton tells the Times.

Peyton and her husband both work — but their jobs don’t offer steady enough hours for them to consistently qualify for food stamps.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/01/we-can-barely-eat-west-virginia-offers-a-chilling-preview-of-trumps-food-stamp-restrictions/

[Fullduplexxx]

1. Just keep voting for the cons

[LonePirate]

2. WV voted for 45 by a 68.5% to 26.4% margin. The cruelty and suffering are self-imposed.

[OnDoutside]

3. +1 and they'll do the same in November.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

11. Cognitive dissonance

Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance.

For example, when people smoke (behavior) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cognition), they are in a state of cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance was first investigated by Leon Festinger, arising out of a participant observation study of a cult which believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood, and what happened to its members — particularly the really committed ones who had given up their homes and jobs to work for the cult — when the flood did not happen.

While fringe members were more inclined to recognize that they had made fools of themselves and to "put it down to experience," committed members were more likely to re-interpret the evidence to show that they were right all along (the earth was not destroyed because of the faithfulness of the cult members).

more

In other words, W.Virginians can't admit they made a mistake voting for Trump, so they'll blame anyone else rather than link Fat Donnie to their current misery, even when the media directly quotes his decision to significantly cut back on SNAP. Nancy Pelosi and the "Do-nothing Democrats" are responsible for their problems, and if they just vote for Trump again he'll "Keep America Great Again," and everything will be all right.

[LonePirate]

14. I suppose that is one reason for it. I can think of a couple of other reasons and they are not kind.

[Politicub]

40. That's a factor, but it's not the only reason.

They have a fetish for seeing other people hurt. It keeps them from acknowledging their and their children's suffering.

[exboyfil]

13. They thought the rules would only apply

to those city liberals (extra points if they were PoC).

I remember driving through rural WVa during the 2016 election and seeing a sea of Trump signs.

[blueinredohio]

31. The majority of them, rich or poor, vote republican.

I was raised in southwestern Virginia, same way there. I now live in northwestern Ohio, same way here. Don't know why but that's the way it is.

[bdamomma]

33. voting against their own interest

no wonder the Congress (the party of tRump) are laughing their asses off, and enforce their total disdain for the American people.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

4. Here's the actual NYT link.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/us/food-stamps-work-west-virginia.html

MILTON, W. Va. — In the early mornings, Chastity and Paul Peyton walk from their small and barely heated apartment to Taco Bell to clean fryers and take orders for as many work hours as they can get. It rarely adds up to full-time week’s worth, often not even close. With this income and whatever cash Mr. Peyton can scrape up doing odd jobs — which are hard to come by in a small town in winter, for someone without a car — the couple pays rent, utilities and his child support payments.

Then there is the matter of food.

“We can barely eat,” Ms. Peyton said. She was told she would be getting food stamps again soon — a little over two dollars’ worth a day — but the couple was without them for months. Sometimes they made too much money to qualify; sometimes it was a matter of working too little. There is nothing reliable but the local food pantry.

Four years ago, thousands of poor people here in Cabell County and eight other counties in West Virginia that were affected by a state policy change found themselves having to prove that they were working or training for at least 20 hours a week in order to keep receiving food stamps consistently. In April, under a rule change by the Trump Administration, people all over the country who are “able-bodied adults without dependents” will have to do the same.

[Aristus]

5. If you accidentlly bump you head on a brick wall,

I will sympathize with your pain, and do what I can to treat the injury.

If you beat your head against a brick wall deliberately because Rush Limbaugh and FOX News told you to, then I have no sympathy for you, and you deserve the headaches you get.

[Newest Reality]

6. War on the poor.

Their is dignity in the work of starving somehow in a way that uplifts the malnourished into a noble and productive wage slavery as valued members of a society that supports their choice of subsistence living and willingness to live on very low incomes in order to provide greater tax relief to those who are known to be worthy.

Food insecurity is a crucial part of capitalism and a great contribution to the maintenance of affluence which is completely essential to the stability of this country and its progress. Which would we rather have, children and seniors with full stomachs or important movers and shakers with full coffers? The answer is obvious.

That is the same freedom that both the rich and poor share alike. The wealthy are also free to not eat if they want to, so how much more equality do you want?

"We can barely eat." Well, eat is the operative word here and you still are eating. Thank your President!

[dalton99a]

7. They will blame Obama for their predicament

Hillary, too

[Initech]

8. Yet they will continue to vote for Chump and the Cons.

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

[Bradshaw3]

9. Victim blaming here is misguided

HRC actually won the votes of those making less than $30,000 by a 53-41 percent margin and those making between 30,000 and 49,999 by a 51 to 42 percent margin:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/631244/voter-turnout-of-the-exit-polls-of-the-2016-elections-by-income/

Further analysis here:
snip
"analysis of exit polls from the primary, which found that the median household income of Trump voters—about $72,000—was significantly higher than the median household income of the country as a whole—about $56,000. It was also higher than that of the average Clinton and Sanders voters—about $61,000 each.

Even among white voters—who were more likely to support Trump than other groups—Trump did better among middle income white voters than low-income ones. And a closer look reveals that the swing towards Trump was a lot bigger based on education, rather than income."


https://talkpoverty.org/2016/11/16/stop-blaming-low-income-voters-donald-trumps-victory/

I know that WV voted overwhelmingly for him and I couldn't find the voting numbers based on income for that state, but the prevailing notion of poor whites handing the election to dump is just wrong, as shown by the numbers. I also don't get the schadenfreude of some taking joy in their increased suffering under this administration. Lots of blame to go around for that, without unfairly blaming this group.

[cyclonefence]

10. The myth that Trump was elected by poor white people

was pretty well demolished by Ta-Nehisi Coates in "The First White President", really and truly worth reading. You will be shocked by his analysis of who voted for Trump:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/

[stillcool]

15. white people?

doesn't matter if their poor, or rich, as long as they're white. What's shocking about that?

[Bradshaw3]

27. Thank you n/t

[Kaleva]

12. "But Mr. Trump won low-income white voters to the Republican ticket, "

"Mrs. Clinton won by a greater margin than Mr. Obama among affluent whites, particularly those living in the Democratic Party’s prosperous coastal strongholds: Washington and Boston, Seattle and New York. In Manhattan, where Mr. Trump lives and works — and where his fellow citizens mocked and jeered him as he voted on Tuesday — Mrs. Clinton won by a record margin, amassing 87 percent of the vote to Mr. Trump’s 10 percent. "

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/politics/donald-trump-voters.html

"Trump’s margin among whites without a college degree is the largest among any candidate in exit polls since 1980. Two-thirds (67%) of non-college whites backed Trump, compared with just 28% who supported Clinton, resulting in a 39-point advantage for Trump among this group. "

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/behind-trumps-victory-divisions-by-race-gender-education/

According to the graph below, Trump did best with those who made less then $50k, Hillary did better with those who made between $50k and $100k and it was a tie with those voters who made $100k or more.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/exit-polls/

[Bradshaw3]

24. You're conflating income and education

The articles I posted shwo that it was education, not income that drove drumpf's win. As one said, the median income for drumpf's voters was more than $70,000.

[Kaleva]

36. Studies show that level of education and income are closely related.

And I did provide a link showing that Trump got a higher percentage of the voters who made less the $50k.

[LonePirate]

17. There is a world of difference national numbers and WV numbers.

WV is older, whiter, poorer, less educated and more rural than the national average and yet the state voted red by over 40 points. Draw your own conclusions from that. Mine is the people in the state prefer these policies regardless of how much they, their families, their friends or their neighbors suffer.

[Bradshaw3]

25. All that is addressed in the post

I stated that WV is different, yet the point holds. Voting for drumpf was based more on education than income. And enjoying the suffering of those who are impacted by his decisions - millions of whom didn't vote for him - is screwed up.

[LisaM]

35. I agree with you.

There are some heartless comments going on here.

[NewJeffCT]

19. That's also deceptive

Obama won voters making under 50K by 60-38 in 2012

Clinton won those same voters making under 50K by 53-41 in 2016.

so, from a 22 point win to a 12 point win is the main reason Trump won

Trump won 50K to 100K by 49-46
And, Trump and Clinton tied over 100K 47-47

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2016

In 2012, Romney won 50K to 100K by 52-46
and he also won over 100K by 54-44

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2012


Obama won a close election solely by winning big with people under 50K

Clinton did better than Obama with people in the 50K to 100K range, and over 100K, but lost too much ground under 50K to overcome.

[Bradshaw3]

26. Nothing deceptive about it

The numbers are what they are and trying to pin the loss on one group who did not vote for drumpf nationally and saying they get what they deserve is wrong. AA voters turned out at a rate of about 7 percent less for HRC than they did for Obama. Wouldn't that drop also be to blame?

[NewJeffCT]

32. Yes

that is to blame as well.

as well as voter suppression and Russian interference

and, the increased vote for Stein

however, the biggest contributor was the big drop in the vote percentage for people making under 50K - Yes, Clinton still won the vote, but Trump cut into the margin big time.

[Blue_true]

20. Your income numbers are not broken out by race for lower incomes.

So you dumped a lot of POC into that group. POC went strongly for Hillary, so they would make groups that they are part of in significant numbers looked much better than if whites only were tabulated in those groups.

I don't like victim blaming in most cases, but the argument that poorer whites are their own worst enemy has a good amount of validity.

[Bradshaw3]

23. I didn't dump anything into it. Read again

Perhaps you overlooked this:
"Trump did better among middle income white voters than low-income ones. And a closer look reveals that the swing towards Trump was a lot bigger based on education, rather than income."

So no giving poorer whites an outsized portion of the blame for drumpf may feel good to some but it doesn't have validity.

[underpants]

28. Good info.

Thanks.

[Bradshaw3]

30. Thanks n/t

[NewJeffCT]

34. Comparing to 2012

1) Romney voters had a much higher overall median income than Trump voters

2) Clinton suffered a huge 10 point drop off in voting percentages for voters making under 50K. Even if part of that is due to lower African American turnout, it's still a several point dropoff among white voters that more than counteracts Clinton doing better in the 50K-100K range and the over 100K range than Obama.

3) Increased turnout in rural, primarily white, areas was noted in many states.

Yes, the median income of Trump voters was higher than the national average, but it was lower than it was for Romney voters in 2012 and Trump made huge gains in voters in the under 50K category

[Ninga]

16. Paging Sen Joe Manchin, you have a call.

[pansypoo53219]

18. did they vote for him? i bet a lot did.

[Blue_true]

21. Why just Joe Manchin?

The other US Senator, the governor and most of the Legistlature in that state are republicans. Why not put the blame where most of it belongs?

[ck4829]

22. "Scheduled scarcity is a premium feature of MAGA life."

[aeromanKC]

29. Well then STOP voting GOP!!!!!!

[KG]

37. guess those gun & bibbles arent tasty as they thought

[Happy Hoosier]

38. I have a hard time working up too much sympathy....

giving what a massive Trumpster stronghold that place is. But this hurts the people who opposed him too.

[OliverQ]

39. West Virginia is the most pro-Trump

state in the country.