Food stamps and SSN
Keeping an eye on how this gets spun: State Auditor Les Merritt’s folks did an analysis on those using invalid Social Security numbers to get food stamps.
The review says that although there are some folks who fall into that category, the state’s Department of Social Services is doing a good job of verifying the numbers. In our current climate, though, I can’t help but expect that the anti-immigrant crowd will jump on this to “prove” again how much “those people” are costing us.
Here’s the report link.
Here’s the operative paragraph in my opinion:
It is our opinion that the limited number of exceptions found during our review fall within a statistically expected error rate taking into consideration the complexity of administering a program as large as the Food and Nutrition Services Program. It appears that the State’s procedures built into this program are functioning properly to ensure compliance with the federal regulation with regard to social security number validation.
Update: Merritt says he’s sorta pleased.
Less than half of the people in North Carolina eligible for food stamps are receiving them according to study by the National Priorities Project. The participation rate for eligible low-income people in NC is 47.1% compared to a national average of 50.2%
How does the other half live?
Americans on Food Stamps will keep rising in the coming months. High energy costs and rising food costs will put more strain on the American economy. Food prices are on their way up up and up.