from The Nation:
When Newt Gingrich derided President Obama as “the food stamp president,” he was using the same old GOP race-baiting tactics that brought us Cadillac-driving “welfare queens” and Willy Horton.
But he also revealed something unintentional about his already imploding candidacy: Gingrich is absolutely clueless when it comes to the economic reality of 44 million Americans who feed their families with the help of the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, food stamps (or SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
Two years into a so-called “recovery,” a record number of Americans—one in seven—receive food stamps. That’s because the program is designed to respond to economic downturns and increased hardship. And that’s exactly what it’s done. It’s one of the last remaining (and relatively strong) threads in our tattered and torn safety net—the same net which Republicans would gladly put through the shredder.
As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) notes, between December 2007 and December 2009 the number of unemployed workers doubled, and the number of workers out of a job for more than six months but still looking nearly quadrupled. SNAP caseloads rightly increased by 45 percent. (In contrast, TANF cash assistance caseloads increased just 13 percent, since it’s subject to the whims of states’ restrictive eligibility requirements thanks to Gingrich-Clinton welfare reform.) ................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/160789/food-stamps-gingrich-hasnt-clue 
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