Tell Congress that nutrition programs are working
Did you catch Leonard Pitts’s column, “This is America: An open letter to so-called President Trump”? Do you feel like Alice in Wonderland in this madness?
In 2013, the top one percent in the U.S. owned 40 percent of the nation’s wealth and the bottom 40 percent owned almost nothing. Of the more than $400 billion in tax incentives that promote asset-building, less than 3 percent benefit the bottom 40 percent of earners. Trump has proposed yet more tax breaks for the wealthy, and massive cuts to anti-poverty public investments.
Currently, about 43 million people — almost half of them children-receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called Food Stamps). One in 20 bags of food assistance comes from charitable organizations, the rest comes from federal nutritional programs, like SNAP. SNAP has been found to significantly reduce hunger and poor health in children.
SNAP benefits pumped about $1.5 billion into Washington state’s economy in 2016. The average monthly SNAP benefit for each household member in Washington: $120 in 2016.
The congressional leaders from our district and state, Rep. Derek Kilmer and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, do listen and need our input. To contact them by email, go to kilmer.house.gov, murray.senate.gov and cantwell.senate.gov.
Donna Munro, Bremerton