{"id":14987,"date":"2019-01-14T03:38:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T03:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=14987"},"modified":"2019-01-15T10:06:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-15T10:06:16","slug":"the-2019-government-shutdown-is-just-the-latest-reason-why-poor-people-cant-bank-on-the-safety-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/the-2019-government-shutdown-is-just-the-latest-reason-why-poor-people-cant-bank-on-the-safety-net\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2019 government shutdown is just the latest reason why poor people can’t bank on the safety net"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamila Michener<\/a>, Cornell University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I conduct a lot of in-depth interviews with people like a woman I\u2019ll call Angie as part of my work as a political scientist<\/a> who studies poverty and public policy. When I asked the low-income mother of two, who works multiple jobs but still struggles to care for her family, about her experience with government assistance programs, she expressed dismay over benefit cuts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who make these rules \u2026 they don\u2019t have any poor people in their family,\u201d she told me. \u201cThat is why they are willing to chop so many services for the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n

People living in poverty are now bracing for that kind of chopping as a result of the partial government shutdown that began in December. By the three-week mark<\/a>, most safety-net benefits were still being funded. But should the impasse drag on, that could change.<\/p>\n

In my view, the added economic hardship<\/a> brought on would highlight an enduring aspect of American public policy: Government benefits can be unreliable<\/a>. They can be cut<\/a> or eliminated arbitrarily.<\/p>\n

Fragmented help<\/h2>\n

As I\u2019ve explained in a book published in 2018<\/a>, the nation\u2019s systems for aiding Americans who have trouble making ends meet are fragmented. Different programs housed in multiple agencies serve distinct populations, with all of this happening in different ways across states and localities.<\/p>\n

That means government shutdowns do not sever all assistance at once. In this instance, Congress has already passed the appropriations bills funding agencies like Health and Human Services, so Medicaid, Medicare<\/a> and many other programs that agency runs are relatively safe.<\/p>\n

Other federal agencies are more likely to see their funds dry up during this particular shutdown, especially the departments of agriculture and housing.<\/p>\n

USDA and HUD are responsible for many programs that directly and indirectly keep low-income Americans fed and housed. The USDA\u2019s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, more commonly called SNAP, helps more than 19 million low-income households. HUD\u2019s Housing Choice Vouchers, better known as Section 8<\/a>, help more than 2 million American families struggling to keep a roof over their heads.<\/p>\n

These programs, which together cost about US$83 billion<\/a> a year, still fail to meet the needs<\/a> of all the Americans who live in poverty. But they nonetheless play a critical role in keeping the most vulnerable Americans afloat.<\/p>\n