Since 1999, the USDA has used the same definition of “insufficient” jobs as the U.S. Department of Labor: when the unemployment rate has hovered at least 20% over the national average for two years. The new Trump administration proposal, however, would forbid states to waive the work requirement unless their unemployment rate had been at least 20% higher than the national average and at least 7% for the previous two years. If experience is any guide, the change is likely to knock thousands of poor working people off of food stamps simply because they will fail to keep up with the paperwork newly required to maintain eligibility; others will undoubtedly fall off the rolls because they can’t find jobs.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 21, 2018 11:03 UTC