Food Stamp Applicant’s On the Rise
Applications for food stamps - vouchers for low income earners can be used to buy food — has risen 65 percent in the county in the past 12 months.. Like the rest of the Golden State, Contra Costa is fighting a battle on two fronts. Demand for welfare assistance is rising as the US recession tightens its grip. But the county’s ability to support its residents is being hindered by a spending freeze tied to California’s $41billion budget deficit — the biggest in the US. The state has slashed funding for social programes and postponed thousands of infrastructure projects - such as school, hospital or highway developments — that are worth $21.7bn. The projects have been put on ice while legislators try to address the record shortfall. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California’s governor, and the state’s Democrats and Republicans have been haggling over a new budget since October and have spent the past few days trying to agree a compromise plan that would raise taxes and cut spending. The state is in line for a federal bail-out and may receive as much as $26bn from the economic stimulus package that passed last week There are also doubts about the state’s ability to continue providing welfare assistance for Californians who have fallen on hard times. In Los Angeles County, home to some 10m people, there was a near 25 per cent jump in applications for homeless assistance between June and September last year.