http://illinoispolicy.org/1-in-6-illinoisans-dependent-on-food-stamps/1 in 6 Illinoisans dependent on food stamps
22 Oct | John Klingner
The number of Illinoisans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, remained above 2 million in July. This is the 10th month in a row enrollment has exceeded 2 million, or one-sixth of Illinoisans.
And the number of Illinoisans who seem permanently stuck on government assistance is growing larger.
Illinois puts more people on food stamps than it creates jobs. Between July 2012 and July 2013, more than 144,000 Illinoisans were added to food stamp rolls. That’s an average of 12,000 Illinoisans a month over the past year.
As expected, the number of Illinoisans on food stamps fell by more than 113,000 as people left the emergency D-SNAP (disaster) program deployed due to heavy flooding across the state over the summer.
But Illinois is not on the path to economic prosperity. Putting more and more Illinoisans on food stamps is not a solution for long-term economic hardship.
To restore true prosperity, Illinois must overturn the failed policies it has been following over the past decade and embrace pro-growth and pro-job policies.
Illinois can do that by lowering its corporate income tax rate to encourage business investment, reducing onerous and costly regulations that stifle entrepreneurship, and passing labor reforms to make Illinois a more attractive businesses destination.
Enacting these polices would eventually allow Illinoisans to once again provide for themselves rather than depend on a government handout.
