College Graduates with jobs still need food stamps to survive

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education will challenge the myth that those receiving food stamps and taking advantage of other welfare programs are not working and not educated. The article gives several examples of college graduates who work part time but need to rely on food stamps to help keep their families fed.

Mellissa Bruning-Matteau is white and has a Ph.D. in medieval history. She even has a job as an adjunct professor teaching two course at YavapiCollege in Prescott Arizona.

Bruninga-Matteau thought that she would land a tenure track position at a college or university but she has ended up teaching two courses at poverty wages with no benefits or job security.

She works twenty hours a week at Yavapa an Arizona community college. Her take home pay is about 900 dollars a month. Her rent is 750 dollars but it is that low only because she lives 43 miles from the campus where she teaches so she has the expensive of commuting as well.. Not much left to live on!

She does not blame the college for her plight. Last year Arizona cut the Yavapa operating budget from 4.3 million to 900,000. As a result the college had to cut part time faculty by18,000 hours.

Bruning-Matteau said:"The media gives us this image that people who are on public assistance are dropouts, on drugs or alcohol, and are irresponsible," "I'm not irresponsible. I'm highly educated. I have a whole lot of skills besides knowing about medieval history, and I've had other jobs. I've never made a lot of money, but I've been able to make enough to live on. Until now." The article goes on to describe other graduates facing similar situations to Bruning-Matteau.

28 million Americans will need food stamps in 2010

This apparently is a record level of use but is not too surprising given the recession. One would think with food banks stretched to the limit and unable to meet demand there might be a renewal of the war against poverty but this seems not to be happening although Obama is now placing more emphasis upon jobs. However the war on terror and renewed terror threats seem to be taking up a lot more attention just now. Entitlement programs such as welfare and food stamps are being looked at as prime targets for cuts as state and federal deficits soar. This is from presstv.

28 million US citizens will need food stamps in 2010

The Congressional Budget Office has announced that the number of US citizens receiving food stamps will rise to an unprecedented level this year.

Over 28 million US citizens will need food assistance in 2010, the CBO said this week.

If the US administration fails to reduce the numbers, US President Barack Obama's Democratic party is not likely to achieve good results in the November 2010 midterm elections, pundits say.

However, Isabel Sohail of the Brookings Institution, who is an expert on poverty issues, says that the increase in spending on welfare will help the US recover from the economic crisis.

The fact that so many people need food stamps could shock many in the US, which has boasted that its economy has the ability to create employment opportunities, BBC reported.

Although Obama has been focusing on healthcare reform and the situation in Afghanistan over the past few months, it seems he has now moved the issues of unemployment and poverty