Inflation, income and abuse

Reader comment on: Krugman and Obama on Infant Nutrition
in response to reader comment: Questions

Submitted by Shannon Love (United States), Feb 18, 2011 17:14

Andy C,

Purely inflation would have increased program from 4 billion to about 5.1 billion or roughly 28%.

The eligibility requirements show that a family of four is eligible 40,793 dollars. However, the median income in America is $44,389. That means, somewhat simplistically, that half the families in America are eligible for WIC.

WIC supports up to 183% of the poverty line which is means that it does cover the entire lower middle class and some of the middle middle-class. Clearly, this is not just a program for poor people.

A big chunk of the problem is that cost of living varies enormously from region to region but as a federal program WIC has to be one size fits all. You can live a middle-class lifestyle in Texas for what an impoverished person lives on in New York city. Yet another argument for making all social welfare state instead of federal programs.

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Other reader comments on this item

Title	By	Date
the elephant in the room [w/response] [95 words]	davesnot here	Feb 22, 2011 10:12
WIC [w/response] [148 words]	Vince	Feb 18, 2011 23:48
↔ Why would it cost more in 2010? [64 words]	editrix	Feb 20, 2011 04:53
↔ Twice more sounds about right [66 words]	Not to sure but...	Feb 20, 2011 19:34
Questions [136 words]	Andy C	Feb 18, 2011 15:57
↔ ⇒ Inflation, income and abuse [152 words]	Shannon Love	Feb 18, 2011 17:14
↔ Good point [104 words]	Andy C	Feb 18, 2011 21:12
↔ WIC [w/response] [112 words]	Vince	Feb 18, 2011 23:57
↔ Rich isn't numeric [98 words]	Shannon Love	Feb 19, 2011 00:28
↔ re: WIC [126 words]	Jill C	Feb 21, 2011 18:06
It's hard to help without hurting [214 words]	Shannon Love	Feb 18, 2011 14:19
I'm ashamed [92 words]	Brian C.	Feb 18, 2011 12:36
What a surprise [17 words]	deepelemblues	Feb 18, 2011 11:22
↔ Apples to apples [78 words]	jwg	Feb 18, 2011 14:35

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