Tag: SNAP program

Art of a light bulb

Timing is everything for low-income people who rely on federal benefits to survive. For example, retirees who receive their Social Security checks early in the month and spend the money before the bills come in are more prone to fill the gap with high-cost payday loans than people who get their checks a few weeks…

social_security_5

Abstract The number of participants in the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) skyrocketed during the Great Recession.  But more surprising is that caseloads for both programs increased during the preceding expansion and during the nascent recovery period after the Great Recession.  Using both administrative program data and t…