The Ford School's Luke Shaefer spoke with CBS Detroit on the federal government shutdown's impact on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
"There are senior citizens, millions of senior citizens, millions of families with kids who are probably pretty panicked right now and wondering what's going on," Shaefer said.
He argued that part of the government's dilemma is the multiple facets and layers that the benefits have to be distributed across. "It has to be distributed to the 50 states, plus DC, plus territories have to deliver those benefits directly to folks. So you're talking about a lot of different levels of government, and this is part of what I think everyone was worried about, that these different levels of government don't just turn on a dime," stated Shaefer. Shaefer alluded that it could be a while before beneficiaries see the money from the government's contingency funds.
