Republicans on Welfare

A favorite conservative line is that they are paying for black folks on welfare with their taxes. The following is a list of the counties in America with the highest Food Stamp benefits…

			PERCENTAGE OF EACH GROUP THAT RECEIVES FOOD STAMPS
COUNTY	STATE	2009 POP.	ALL PEOPLE	WHITES	BLACKS		CHANGE ’07-’09
Starr	Texas	63,177	36%	63%	19%		+6%
Costilla	Colorado	3,173	24%	62%	77%		+22%
McKinley	New Mexico	71,477	28%	56%	0%		+11%
Owsley	Kentucky	4,667	49%	49%	>90%		+5%
Wolfe	Kentucky	6,933	42%	43%	14%		+5%
Clay	Kentucky	24,102	37%	39%	9%		+5%
Ripley	Missouri	13,446	39%	39%	22%		+22%
Lee	Kentucky	7,389	37%	39%	6%		+3%
McCreary	Kentucky	17,341	37%	38%	7%		+8%
Hancock	Tennessee	6,669	37%	38%		26%	+18%
Dunklin	Missouri	31,300	44%	37%		>90%	+16%
Grundy	Tennessee	14,182	36%	37%		6%	+29%
Magoffin	Kentucky	13,101	37%	37%		18%	+2%
Carter	Missouri	5,867	36%	37%		60%	+14%
Washington	Missouri	24,817	35%	36%		18%	+24%

Notice anything?

ANd the two counties where “>90%” of black folks are on food stamps?

Dunklin, Missouri

The racial makeup of the county was 88.64% White, 8.68% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races.

Owsley, Kentucky

The racial makeup of the county was 99.22% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.02% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

You can look at the full data set here.

A Map showing the levels of SNAP recipients on a County level also shows something else interesting. The majority of the counties in America with 25%, 50%, or more on Food Stamps…

Are in the very Republican South. The darker areas represent counties where 30% or more of the population is on SNAP.

You can find this interactive map, including maps broken down by Democrat/Republican here.

According to a TIME analysis of county-by-county food stamp enrollment data, GOP politicians represent more districts that majorly (30%+) participate in SNAP than Democrats.