Books by Matthew Gritter

Since the New Deal, Republican presidents have looked for ways to accommodate rather than abolish the federal social safety net. Yet moderation often led to a backlash from their conservative supporters, leading Republican presidents, in some cases, to move from accommodation to opposition.

This book explores attempts to reform the SNAP program and argues that many recent reform efforts are based on conceptions of the undeserving poor rather than data about SNAP recipients. It warns that if states are allowed greater flexibility SNAP could be reformed in a way that significantly reduces enrollment and leaves many without a safety net.

Food Stamps, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), has endured and expanded in recent years.