1 in 5 Tennesseans on food stamps! (transplants, coupon, how much) - Tennessee (TN) - City-Data Forum

rccrain · 12-09-2010, 06:51 PM

Count me surprised we're that bad off.

Food Stamp Rolls Continue to Rise - Real Time Economics - WSJ

mrs1885 · 12-09-2010, 09:54 PM

I'm surprised it's that low. In this county I think most of the residents are. I see them every single time I go shopping. Then again we've got like 13% unemployment here. It's always been high, but seems to keep getting worse. And those that are working are making minimum wage. TN is a very economically depressed state. That's why living here is so cheap.

2mares · 12-10-2010, 06:59 AM

Why are you surprised with unemployment what it is. Not only are there so many unemployed, wages have been depressed in many jobs. My son works for a small construction business. He is making half the wage he was 2 yrs. ago for the same job, but thats better than nothing. If he were not living with me right now, he would be on FS. I have talked to families with kids where both parents were working and they still qualified for FS.

I wont even go into the many undocumented and transplants that have moved here with no secure job.

RamblinRoseRanch · 12-10-2010, 07:57 AM

With such a large illegal population, I'm not surprised. Taking into account the economy, there are several families (not including those who use food stamps as a lifestyle) that would have NEVER imagined themselves making use of the program who are on Food Stamps. A friend who is currently on them and I frequently shop together. We're both amazed at the fact that people with FS benefits are penalized for trying to stretch their food dollar, as any coupon use is taxed and the user has to pay that amount in cash. So she watchs as I pay less for my purchases, after coupon, with tax than she pays without taxes. You'd think the government would be happy that folks were trying to make their FS dollars work harder and figure out some way to not tax the coupon amount.

2Mares- I understand what your son is going through- we took a 50,000 dollar pay cut at the end of 08. Sounds like a lot of money, doesn't it? But when you still have the bills associated with that income and suddenly less than half the income you did.... it's difficult.

LauraC · 12-12-2010, 08:06 AM

The national unemployment rate for college graduates is around 5% and for high school drop outs, it's around 15%. Not sure what the current numbers are for Tennessee tied to education level.

North Dakota is still the best place to live if you want to work. They had a 3.85% unemployment rate and a booming economy (oil-related) and South Dakota is not far behind with a 4.5% rate through October.

hiknapster · 12-12-2010, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LauraC

North Dakota is still the best place to live if you want to work. They had a 3.85% unemployment rate and a booming economy (oil-related) and South Dakota is not far behind with a 4.5% rate through October.

That's correct. Knox County has the best unemployment rate of the largest metro areas, at 7.0, but North and South Dakota are even better.

Some of these counties in TN with high unemployment rates seem to be high even when the US is in an economic boom, sad to say. I've moved twice, in my life, for better job opportunities. It's not easy leaving your home but you do what you have to do. My hometown in MA has very few jobs and I will probably never be able to return. By the time I get to retirement age I probably wouldn't want to; it's too darn cold.

Anyway, I've come across a lot of TN communities that are economically depressed, with people collecting unemployment, public assistance or disability and never getting ahead. If it were me, I'd move to a larger metro area with job opportunities or at least commute at first.

DubbleT · 12-12-2010, 10:10 AM

I wonder what that one in five compares to pre-recession? Hasn't TN always had a fairly high number of food stamp recipients? Twenty percent is bad, but how much of that is due to the current economy and how much is 'normal' for TN? If anybody is good with that kind of research I think it would be interesting to see a 'before and after' set of numbers.

Bones · 12-12-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubbleT

I wonder what that one in five compares to pre-recession? Hasn't TN always had a fairly high number of food stamp recipients? Twenty percent is bad, but how much of that is due to the current economy and how much is 'normal' for TN? If anybody is good with that kind of research I think it would be interesting to see a 'before and after' set of numbers.

Tennessee Department of Human Services

yarddawg · 12-12-2010, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DubbleT

I wonder what that one in five compares to pre-recession? Hasn't TN always had a fairly high number of food stamp recipients? Twenty percent is bad, but how much of that is due to the current economy and how much is 'normal' for TN? If anybody is good with that kind of research I think it would be interesting to see a 'before and after' set of numbers.

This will get you pretty close - it's the number of food stamp recipients in TN broken down by county and by month from 2001 to 2010.

Tennessee Department of Human Services

You'll have to look up populations to figure percentage. In October 2001 there were 555,870 Tennesseans on food stamps. In October 2010 the number had risen to 1,263,636.

hiknapster · 12-12-2010, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yarddawg

This will get you pretty close - it's the number of food stamp recipients in TN broken down by county and by month from 2001 to 2010.

Tennessee Department of Human Services

You'll have to look up populations to figure percentage. In October 2001 there were 555,870 Tennesseans on food stamps. In October 2010 the number had risen to 1,263,636.

Whoa. I wonder how many aren't on that could be. I am sure we are eligible and we own a business (no assets).