Dr. Ben Carson: Junk food wasn't meant to be in SNAP benefits
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New York Times
7 hours ago
- New York Times
Food Stamp Cuts Could Deal a Blow to Small Grocers
Republican cuts to the federal food stamp program could put millions of people at risk of losing benefits, which would make it harder for them to afford groceries. But the changes could have further consequences, as the reductions squeeze small grocery stores that depend on those customers. Grocers and food policy researchers have warned that cuts to the food stamp program, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, could result in stores laying off workers, raising prices or shuttering entirely as their revenues drop. That has spurred concerns that the cuts could hit local economies and lead to the loss of grocery stores in rural counties that already have few food retailers. The domestic policy bill that President Trump signed last month imposes stricter work requirements on food stamp recipients, applying them to able-bodied adults through age 64. The law also subjects parents with children 14 and older to the mandate. Previously, adults up to age 54 were subject and people with dependents were exempt. The law also shifts some program costs to states, making them pay more administrative costs and a portion of the benefits for the first time unless they maintain lower payment error rates. Several states have said the changes will put hundreds of thousands of households at risk of losing some or all of their SNAP benefits. Some states, including Pennsylvania, have questioned whether they can continue operating the program if they cannot shoulder the extra costs of providing benefits. Republicans say the changes will help reduce dependence on federal benefits and ensure that SNAP serves the neediest families. They have also said the changes would hold states better accountable. But the measures have alarmed some researchers who say they could make it harder for small grocers to stay in business, particularly in rural areas that are more likely to have both higher shares of SNAP participants and lower access to food retailers. Roughly 27,000 food retailers that largely operate in rural counties face the highest risks from the cuts, according to an analysis from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit that supports anti-hunger programs, said the changes could have broad consequences for local economies. If grocery stores bring in fewer dollars, employees at those stores could lose their jobs, she said. Property tax revenue could also fall because of store closures, she added. Ms. Plata-Nino said the cuts could be particularly painful for rural areas with fewer grocery stores. If grocers close or reduce their hours, people could spend more time and money traveling to buy food, she said. The changes could also result in families purchasing less fresh produce and more food with a long shelf life because it is less convenient to go to the store, she added. Robert Greenstein, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that some families would squeeze other parts of their budgets to try to offset the loss of SNAP benefits, but the overall reduction in food purchases would be substantial. 'We'll likely see more independent grocery stores in low-income and rural areas going under, especially during a recession,' Mr. Greenstein said. Stephanie Johnson, the group vice president of government relations at the National Grocers Association, a trade group for independent grocers, said the domestic policy bill provided some benefits to businesses by making certain tax breaks permanent. But she said the group's members already had low net profit margins and some have said that jobs could be affected by the cuts to SNAP. 'Those changes to their SNAP sales may be difficult,' Ms. Johnson said. The association has estimated that the federal program supports about 388,000 jobs across the food industry. Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, said the program was 'never intended to be a windfall for food companies, retailers, and nonprofits,' but rather a 'temporary safety net for families and communities in need.' 'Finally, President Trump's policies are improving the economy and communities across the country,' Ms. Rollins said in a statement. 'With those improvements come jobs, which will reduce dependence on government assistance, preserving it for those truly in need.' Some local officials said they worried about how the cuts could affect food access in their communities. Matt Wireman, the judge executive of Magoffin County, Ky., said there were only two full-service grocery stores in the county, along with several dollar stores that sold food items. Mr. Wireman said he was concerned that grocers could raise prices or struggle to stay in business, given that about 30 percent of the county's roughly 11,300 residents receive SNAP benefits. Store closures could lead to more people traveling as much as 30 minutes to surrounding counties to buy groceries, Mr. Wireman said. He added that he worried poverty could worsen because Republicans have also passed cuts to Medicaid. 'With looming cuts to that and SNAP, we are heading for an economic collapse in rural east Kentucky,' Mr. Wireman said. George Hudson, who owns Hudson's Grocery in Claiborne County, Miss., said that a significant share of his revenue depended on SNAP benefits. 'If I don't get that 15 to 20 percent, or that drops, then that's detrimental to my business,' Mr. Hudson said. Mr. Hudson, who is also a county supervisor, said there were two full service-grocery stores in the county, which has a population of about 9,000 people. He said he did not intend to lay off workers or close his store, but it could be harder to keep prices lower. 'Prices could have to rise in order to make ends meet,' Mr. Hudson said. Some researchers said they were skeptical about the extent of the cuts and did not expect to see a large effect on spending at grocery stores. Kevin Corinth, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, praised the changes to SNAP. He said he hoped to see an increase in employment and thought the stricter work requirements would affect a 'relatively modest share' of people. He said he also expected many states to lower their error rates in the coming years, and that most would probably not have to pay a major portion of the benefits. 'I don't think there's going to be a large reduction in SNAP benefits going to households,' Mr. Corinth said. 'It's possible some states will have to cover a small share, but my guess is that this incentive will be pretty strong.' States will be subject to the new cost-share rules starting in fiscal year 2028, although certain states with higher error rates will have more time to adjust before the changes take effect. States with an error rate of 6 percent or greater will have to pay 5 percent to 15 percent of the benefit costs. States with a lower error rate will not have to shoulder any of those costs. Some estimates have found that millions enrolled in the program, which provides monthly benefits to roughly 42 million people, could be affected by more stringent work requirements. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that changes to the work mandate would reduce participation in SNAP by more than three million people in an average month over the next decade, although that analysis is based on an earlier House version of the bill that included stricter work requirements for parents. The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has estimated that more than five million people live in a household that would be at risk of losing at least some food assistance because of the expanded work requirements. Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the center, said that the bill dramatically expands work requirements and that she did not think they would help people achieve self sufficiency, pointing to a body of research that has found that work requirements do not increase employment. She also said the vast majority of states had an error rate above 6 percent at some point over the last two decades. 'It is very likely that at least in some years, most, if not all, states will ultimately owe this cost share for food benefits,' Ms. Bergh said. The domestic policy bill also cuts off food stamps for some immigrants who are lawfully present in the country and makes it harder for areas to qualify for work requirement waivers if they have higher rates of unemployment. It also ends work requirement exemptions for veterans, homeless people and certain former foster youth. 'It is really an unprecedented structural change to the program that jeopardizes food assistance for millions of low-income families,' Ms. Bergh said.
UPI
18 hours ago
- UPI
Mixed results for 'Rage Against the Regime' day of action
Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The same organization behind prior protests against the Trump administration reported mixed results for Saturday's "Rage Against the Regime" protests across the country. The protests are part of the ninth "national day of action" event coordinated so far this year by the 50501 Movement, which opposes President Donald Trump and his administration's policies. Organizers accuse the Trump administration of "heralding ... American neo-fascism," building "concentration camps" and funding "genocide." They also accuse Trump of "weaponization of ICE against our communities, construction of concentration camps, covering up the Epstein files, attacks on transgender rights and ... dismantling of Medicaid, SNAP, USAID, the Department of Education, NOAA and the National Weather Service." The protests are intended to be peaceful, but at least one local organizer changed the name to "Rise Against the Regime" to emphasize its peaceful intent for the protest in San Angelo, Texas. Several posts on the 50501 Movements' Facebook page expressed disappointment over low turnout at many of the protests, while others said hundreds showed up. The organization says "50501" refers to 50 protests in 50 states in one day and calls the Trump administration a "threat" to democracy and human rights, The Hill reported. About 350 Rage Against the Regime protests were scheduled in communities across the nation. The name of Saturday's collective protests references the Los Angeles rock band Rage Against the Machine. Other nationwide protests organized by the 50501 Movement include the "No Kings Day" protest held on June 14 and the "Good Trouble Lives On" protest held on the anniversary of former Rep. John Lewis' death on July 17.
Los Angeles Times
20 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
‘No obvious frontrunner.' Why Harris' exit has scrambled the race for California governor
For months, candidates in the race to become California's next governor had waited for a pivotal question to be settled: Will former Vice President Kamala Harris run or not? With Harris' announcement this week that she's out, a new question arose: Who's the front-runner now? Because of Harris' star power, the answer is far from simple. For months, other candidates saw their campaign planning and fundraising undercut by the possibility she would run, meaning the race got a big reset seconds after Harris made her announcement Wednesday. Some political observers give the nod to former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, who appears to have a small leg up over her opponents. Porter was the only Democrat to receive double-digit support in multiple polls when Harris was not included in the field. A prodigious fundraiser while she was in Congress representing an Orange County district, Porter reported a strong infusion of cash in the months after launching her campaign in March, and said she raised $250,000 in the 36 hours after Harris' announcement. 'The enthusiasm we're seeing from donors at every level shows that Californians know how critical this race is,' Porter said in an email blast. Other candidates — including Xavier Becerra, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration and a former California attorney general — have also tried to assert that, with Harris out, they are moving up. 'BECERRA CAMPAIGN BUILDING MOMENTUM IN 'WIDE OPEN' RACE,' read the subject line of an email sent Friday by the Becerra campaign, saying he is 'well-positioned to unite a broad swath of voters around his plans to make health care and housing less expensive and more accessible.' Outside observers, however, said that none of the candidates really stand out from the pack at the moment. 'That these remaining candidates are jockeying for bragging rights about who may be the front-runner — it's to be expected, but it's ludicrous,' said Garry South, a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked on a number of past gubernatorial campaigns, including for former Gov. Gray Davis. 'With Harris opting out, there will likely be no obvious front-runner among the remainder of the current field for quite some time,' South said. 'None of these candidates start out with statewide name recognition.' With such a wide-open field, factors such as endorsements and communication strategies will be important to watch, experts said. So will the candidates' ability to raise money and use it to broaden their appeal. 'I would start spending money on social media, on television advertising, on every single platform I could find to build up my name ID,' South said, but 'none of them have enough money to do that at the moment.' With Harris out, will she back someone else? 'Obviously if she did endorse, that would be a big plus' for whichever candidate she rallied behind, said John Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. Harris has long relationships with several of the candidates in the race. A source familiar with her thinking told The Times after Harris bowed out that she was still considering whether and how to approach the governor's race. Other endorsements could affect the race as well. Hours after Harris announced her decision, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the influential former House Speaker, appeared on CNN to endorse Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, whom she has known for years. 'We have many great candidates, one in particular Eleni Tsakopoulos, whom I support,' Pelosi said, referring to Kounalakis by her maiden name. Kounalakis' father, the wealthy developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, helped bankroll an independent expenditure committee supporting his daughter's 2018 campaign for lieutenant governor. Political observers are watching to see if he dumps money into a similar effort backing her gubernatorial campaign. Pitney said Pelosi's opinion 'would carry a lot more weight' if she were still speaker. He said it 'isn't necessarily going to sway a large chunk of the electorate,' but could be important if it sways Bay Area donors. A former GOP legislative aide and national party staffer who renounced his membership in the Republican Party the night Trump was elected in 2016, Pitney said that endorsements are far from a determining factor in today's political landscape. 'I hesitate to rule anybody out, because very often candidates seem to come out of nowhere — like Mamdani in New York City,' he said, referring to the sudden rise and stunning upset primary win of 33-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York mayoral race. Pitney added that experience in government and administrative leadership also matters, but could also cut against candidates at a time when many voters are frustrated and want something new. For example, Antonio Villaraigosa, the former state Assembly speaker and L.A. mayor who is in his 70s, 'obviously has a long history, but that long history is both an advantage and a disadvantage,' Pitney said. Villaraigosa has said his campaign is 'about the future.' But voters 'may not regard him as a fresh face,' Pitney said. None of the current candidates for governor have the same profile as Harris. In fact, they are broadly unknown to huge swaths of the electorate. That means they have their work cut out for them, Pitney and South said — namely in terms of fundraising. South said that there 'is no question that the Democratic donor base has basically been sitting on their haunches waiting to see what Harris is going to do.' But, he said, he hasn't seen any sign yet that donors have picked a favorite candidate now that she's out, either — which is a problem for candidates with little or no name recognition. 'None of these candidates in the remaining field with Harris out have enough money in the bank to run a statewide campaign for governor,' he said. South said that could change if Kounalakis gets another major infusion of cash from her father and once again taps her personal wealth. At the same time, there could also be a 'huge blowback' from that sort of splashy family spending, South said, especially if Kounalakis' opponents pounced on it as distasteful. 'We have not tended in this state to elect moneyed people who try to buy the governor's race,' he said. South said he is watching to see if big Bay Area donors decide to back Porter 'because of her profile as a progressive.' Los Angeles developer and 2022 mayoral candidate Rick Caruso 'could be a force' if he were to enter the race, Pitney said, because 'he has prominence in Southern California and also has a lot of money.' The most recent fundraising reports, which were due Thursday night, shine a light on candidates' coffers — but only through the end of June, well before Harris dropped out. The Democrats who do not have the potential to self-fund their campaigns reported having millions of dollars in cash on hand as of June 30, including some who transferred money from prior campaign committees to their gubernatorial accounts. Former legislative leader Toni Atkins reported having $4.3 million in the campaign, while raising $648,000 and spending $549,000 in the first six months of this year. Villaraigosa raised $1.1 million and spent $550,000 this year, but reported $3.3 million cash on hand based on fundraising he did last year. Becerra had $2.1 million in the bank after raising $2.5 million and spending $449,000 in the first six months of the year. Porter reported raising $2.5 million and spending $449,000 since launching her campaign in March. She said she has $2.1 million in the bank. Unlike the other candidates, Porter's campaign revealed her fundraising because her filing on the state disclosure website didn't show any dollar figures. Spokesman Nathan Click said her number of small-dollar donors crashed the state's system, and that they had been working with state officials to get the documents displayed on the secretary of state's website all day Friday. He said most of Porter's 34,000 donors contributed less than $200 each. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco reported raising $1.6 million and spending $609,000 this year, leaving him with $1 million in the bank. A few candidates reported mediocre fundraising numbers, but have personal wealth they can draw on. Kounalakis raised just over $100,000 and spent nearly three times as much during the first half of this year. She has more than $4.6 million on hand and millions more in her lieutenant governor campaign account, although some of that money can't be transferred because of campaign finance rules. Businessman Stephen J. Cloobeck, a Los Angeles Democrat, raised about $160,000 and spent $1.5 million — including more than $1 million on consultants. He had about $729,000 on hand at the end of the period. He also said he made a $10-million contribution Friday that he said 'turbocharged' his campaign. 'One of my many advantages is that I'm not a politician and I am not compromised,' Cloobeck said. Former Fox News host Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate, raised about $1.5 million, of which $200,000 was a personal loan. Hilton spent about $1 million and has a little less than $800,000 in the bank. At the lowest end of the fundraising were former state controller Betty Yee, who raised almost $238,000 and spent $255,000, with $637,000 on hand; and state schools superintendent Tony Thurmond, who raised about $70,000, spent about $180,000 and had almost $560,000 on hand. Both Yee and Thurmond told The Times last month that fundraising had slowed while Democratic donors waited on Harris to make a decision.
