March, 26 2012, 04:39pm EDT
Ryan Budget Cuts to Nutrition Assistance Would Eliminate 184,000 Jobs
WASHINGTON
Today, new estimates from the Center for American Progress reveal that if enacted, the Ryan Budget's proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would eliminate 184,000 jobs.
This year's House budget proposal would cut by nearly 20 percent a program instrumental in combatting poverty in our country by alleviating hunger. Such a cut would not only have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable Americans by taking millions of meals off the table, but it would also result in tens of thousands of job losses.
Based on an analysis, entitled "The Economic Consequences of Cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," the Center for American Progress finds that every $1 billion spent by SNAP recipients enables nearly 14,000 Americans to find or keep their jobs. That means approximately 1 million workers were employed last year because of this program. If this year's House budget proposal spearheaded by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) were enacted, the proposed 10-year, $133.5 billion cut to the program would result in 184,000 job losses for the coming year.
All economic sectors would be affected by such deep cuts, but food-related industries would suffer disproportionately. The program cuts could directly eliminate 86,000 jobs among grocers and retail food support sectors including food trucking companies and food warehousing, and another 45,000 jobs would be lost in companies indirectly connected to the food sector. Finally, more than 52,000 jobs would be lost because of the induced job losses associated with these cuts.
Related resources:
- House Republicans Want to Punish the Poor by Donna Cooper
- Interactive Map: House Republicans' Latest Assault on Nutrition Assistance
- The Economic Consequences of Cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by Jeff Thompson and Heidi Garrett-Peltier
To speak with a CAP expert on this topic, please contact Katie Peters at kpeters@americanprogress.org or 202.741.6285.
The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter.
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