Cuts to social programs would push millions of Americans into poverty: 44,566,000 people were in poverty in 2016—below are the additional number of people that would have been in poverty without the specified government program
| Additional number of people in poverty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 26,096,000 | 0 |
| Refundable tax credits | 8,177,000 | 0 |
| SNAP/Food stamps | 3,575,000 | 0 |
| SSI | 3,359,000 | 0 |
| Housing subsidies | 3,106,000 | 0 |
| School lunch | 1,361,000 | 0 |
| TANF/general assistance | 608,000 | 0 |
| Unemployment insurance | 680,000 | 0 |
| Workers’ compensation | 242,000 | 0 |
| WIC | 264,000 | 0 |
| LIHEAP | 150,000 | 0 |
Notes: Poverty in this chart is measured by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). SNAP refers to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to adults and children with a disability and who have limited income and resources, and people age 65 or older who have limited income and resources. TANF refers to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. WIC refers to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants, and Children. LIHEAP refers to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
Source: David Cooper and Julia Wolfe, “Poverty Declined Modestly in 2016; Government Programs Continued to Keep Tens of Millions Out of Poverty,” Working Economics (Economic Policy Institute blog), September 12, 2017.