Undeserving

SNAP Reform and Conceptions of the Deserving Poor

Matthew Gritter

This book explores attempts to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. It argues that a growing focus on punitive policies attempts to characterize SNAP recipients as undeserving of governmental assistance. The book explores three areas of reform efforts: attempts to limit the types of food that can be purchased, attempts to implement drug testing, and attempts to restrict Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) from accessing SNAP. These attempts at reform highlight the ways that reformers view SNAP recipients as not deserving of assistance. This book argues that these reform efforts are based on conceptions of the deserving and undeserving poor rather than concrete data about SNAP recipients, and warns that if states are allowed greater flexibility SNAP could be reformed in a way that significantly reduces enrollment and leaves many Americans without a safety net.

Lexington Books

Pages: 102 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-4985-6633-9 • Hardback • November 2017 • $93.00 • (£72.00)

978-1-4985-6632-2 • eBook • November 2017 • $88.00 • (£68.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / Social Services & Welfare, History / United States / 21st Century, Social Science / Poverty & Homelessness, Political Science / American Government / State

Undeserving

SNAP Reform and Conceptions of the Deserving Poor

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This book explores attempts to reform the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. It argues that a growing focus on punitive policies attempts to characterize SNAP recipients as undeserving of governmental assistance. The book explores three areas of reform efforts: attempts to limit the types of food that can be purchased, attempts to implement drug testing, and attempts to restrict Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) from accessing SNAP. These attempts at reform highlight the ways that reformers view SNAP recipients as not deserving of assistance. This book argues that these reform efforts are based on conceptions of the deserving and undeserving poor rather than concrete data about SNAP recipients, and warns that if states are allowed greater flexibility SNAP could be reformed in a way that significantly reduces enrollment and leaves many Americans without a safety net.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 102 • Trim: 5¾ x 9

978-1-4985-6633-9 • Hardback • November 2017 • $93.00 • (£72.00)

978-1-4985-6632-2 • eBook • November 2017 • $88.00 • (£68.00)

Subjects: Political Science / Public Policy / Social Services & Welfare, History / United States / 21st Century, Social Science / Poverty & Homelessness, Political Science / American Government / State

Author

Matthew Gritter is assistant professor of political science at Angelo State University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 SNAP at a Crossroads?
Chapter 2 Enduring and Expanding: SNAP 1996-2014
Chapter 3 ABAWDs, Work Requirements and State Level SNAP Reform
Chapter 4 Banning Steak and Soda
Chapter 5 Drug Testing, Welfare and SNAP
Chapter 6 Putting It All Together: The Possibilities of SNAP Reform

Reviews

SNAP has become a central part of the social safety net and one of the few programs available to able-bodied adults without dependents who face challenges in the labor market. Drawing parallels with welfare reform under the TANF program, Matthew Gritter’s book calls much needed attention to conservative efforts to reframe SNAP as assisting the undeserving poor and state efforts to restrict access to benefits and impose punitive requirements on recipients. While the Obama administration blocked most of these efforts, Gritter persuasively argues that SNAP could potentially be significantly curtailed through state waivers and budget cuts under the Trump administration.
— Tracy Roof, University of Richmond

Undeserving

SNAP Reform and Conceptions of the Deserving Poor

Matthew Gritter

Undeserving

SNAP Reform and Conceptions of the Deserving Poor

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