Why The Poor Don't Work, According To The Poor

Why The Poor Don't Work, According To The Poor
In this April 24, 2012, photo shows job seekers waiting in line during a job fair, In Portland, Ore. Weekly unemployment benefit applications were little changed last week and remained stuck near a three-month high. That suggests hiring may have slowed after strong job gains this winter. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
In this April 24, 2012, photo shows job seekers waiting in line during a job fair, In Portland, Ore. Weekly unemployment benefit applications were little changed last week and remained stuck near a three-month high. That suggests hiring may have slowed after strong job gains this winter. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Conservative Republicans have officially made it their mission to end food stamps as we know them. Such was evident last week, when the House GOP voted to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as food stamps are now known, by $39 billion over a decade and begin bulking up its work requirements, along the lines of welfare reform in the 1990s.

Whether you believe this a good or humane idea probably boils down to your take on a single question: why don't the poor, who make up the overwhelming majority of food stamp recipients, go to work? In 2012, more than 26 million 18-to-64-year-old adults lived under the poverty line; about 15 million of them didn't have a job during the year. Is the economy to blame? Or are personal choices at fault?

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