Business and sociology presentation

1. The Federal Role in Fighting Poverty (Housing and SNAP
Benefits) GROUP 3
[Student’s Name]
[Institution]
[Course]
[Date]

2. 1.1 Overview of The Issue
 The federal government of the United States has established several programs for fighting poverty in the United States.
 One such program is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP., formerly called the Food Stamp Program).
 The program aims at lifting adults, children, and families out of poverty. It is the most extensive anti-hunger program in the
United States., providing more than 44.7milion individuals of all races with an average monthly benefit of above $134 in 2018
(Fox et al., 2018).
 To be eligible for SNAP benefits, households must meet the gross income, net income and asset tests.
 The SNAP benefits are via an electronic transfer debit card (EBT), administered through contract agreements between the
banks and the United States government. The program's beneficiaries use the EBT cards to buy any food or beverage but
cannot use them to buy alcoholic beverages.
 I personally think this is a tremendous initiative the united states federal government has adopted and its contribution in
poverty reduction is substantial.

3. 1.2 Populations Impacted Both Negatively and Positively
 Poor people of all races and ethnic groups in the United States are impacted positively by the program.
 However, the whites are highly positively impacted by the program, with the races like blacks, Latino and
Asian benefiting narrowly. For example, SNAP lifted 23 million white, 6 million Black, 7 million Latino,
and 1 million Asian people above the poverty line (Gibson et al.,2022).
 The rich, however, are impacted negatively as some of the funds they contribute as taxes to help develop
social amenities such as roads, hospitals and schools are diverted and used in the SNAP program by the
federal government to help just a few. (The poor).

4. Illustration : Number of People SNAP Lifted Above
Poverty Line in 2017, by Age, Race, and Ethnicity
White Black Latino Asian All races and ethnicities
Children under 18 2,745,000 2,067,000 3,037,000 236,000 8,730,000
Ages 18-64 6,508,000 2,718,000 2,712,000 343,000 12,739,000
65 years and older 13,950,000 1,701,000 1,290,000 517,000 17,720,000
All ages 23,204,000 6,486,000 7,039,000 1,096,000 39,189,000
March 2018

5. 1.3 Analysis of the Economic Dimensions of a U.S. Federal public
Policy for Strengths and Weaknesses.
 Economically the SNAP program showed some strengths. For example, in 2017, SNAP is said to have lifted
3.4 million people out of poverty, nearly half of them children (Fox et al.,2018).
 It also benefits the economy with a multiplier effect that makes every $1 billion in SNAP benefits worth
$1.5 billion in the gross domestic product (Canning et al.,2019).
 However, it has been criticized by anti-hunger and public health supporters for its weakness of the limited
enrollments and limited benefits as it limits the number of food items one can buy with the electronic
transfer debit card (SNAP to health,2012).

6. 1.4 Conclusion
 SNAP is an excellent united states government initiative whose benefits cannot be underestimated
 Recommendations to improve the policy;
 The program is to be stretched to cover a larger population of low household income earners,
especially those significantly impacted by the adverse effects of COVID-19.
 The movement ensures a more equitable distribution among the people of different races, as
experienced in the current distribution where the whites get a larger share in terms of the beneficiaries.
 The program is to be extended to cover food and beverages and the health expenses of the low
household income families.

7. References
Canning P, Stacy B. (2019). The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the economy: new estimates of the SNAP
multiplier. ERR-265. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service
Fox L, Mykta L. (2018). Supplemental poverty measure shows who benefits from government programs. U.S. Census Bureau.:
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/09/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-lifts-millions-out-of-poverty.html.
SNAP to health (2012): a fresh approach to strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Washington, Berg, J., & Gibson, A. (2022). Why the world should not follow the failed United States model of fighting domestic
hunger. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 814. DC: Center for the Study of the Presidency and
Congress