Number Of PhD Recipients Using Food Stamps Surged During Recession: Report

The number of PhD recipients on food stamps has more than tripled between 2007 and 2010, according to the Urban Institute.

In this economy, even having multiple degrees isn't a guarantee against poverty.

The number of PhD recipients on food stamps and other forms of welfare more than tripled between 2007 and 2010 to 33,655, according to an Urban Institute analysis cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The number of master's degree holders on food stamps and other forms of welfare nearly tripled during that same time period to 293,029, according to the same analysis.

The boost in PhD recipients receiving food stamps is just the latest indication of how Americans are struggling in a down economy. Overall, the number of Americans on food stamps rose 43 percent over the past three years to 46.3 million Americans as of February 2012, according to the Department of Agriculture.

In addition, even graduate degrees that many used to consider a guarantee to a life of wealth and success are going down in value. The sluggish economy has pushed graduates with law degrees to look for jobs outside of the legal profession, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The situation is particularly dire for faculty working outside the tenure track as cuts to funding for public colleges have squeezed their salaries. Many adjunct faculty members are likely to be on welfare, since they live on "poverty wages," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Meanwhile, secure tenure-track jobs are disappearing as adjunct faculty positions become more the norm, according to several news sources. While more than half of all university faculty members were tenured or on the tenure track in 1975, that percentage has plunged to less than a third of all faculty members as of 2007, according to Department of Education data cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education in a separate report.

All of these factors, plus a less-than-stellar job market, have forced many PhDs to work in menial jobs. There are 5,057 janitors with PhDs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by the Houston Chronicle.

In another sign that a graduate degree is no guarantee of a secure job, some students that are just graduating from graduate school are having trouble getting job interviews, according to the Hartford Courant.

Here are the states that use the most food stamps:

Loading Slideshow

• 10. South Carolina

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 18.2 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 7.1 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 4,625,364

• 9. Maine

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 18.6 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 8 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 1,328,361

• 8. West Virginia

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 18.7 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 2.4 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 1,852,994

• 7. Kentucky

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 18.8 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 5.9 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 4,339,367

• 6. Louisiana

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 19.2 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 7.5 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 4,533,372

• 5. Michigan

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 19.7 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 11.4 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 9,883,640

• 4. New Mexico

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 19.8 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 17.9 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 2,059,179

• 3. Tennessee

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 19.8 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 17.9 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 6.2 million <i>Correction: A previous version of this slide misstated the state's population. </i>

• 2. Oregon

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 20.1 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 9.6 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 3,831,074

• 1. Mississippi

  <strong>Percentage of Population on Food Stamps:</strong> 20.7 percent <strong>Annual Change in Food Stamps from 2010:</strong> 8.4 percent <strong>2010 Total State Population:</strong> 2,967,297

Comments

[Dierdre Sam Canuet]

12:59 PM on 03/20/2013

I just came across some interesting info for low income families that want to grow their own food. Most of these low income folks are on Food Stamp Program and in the guidelines it states these recipients can buy seeds and plants to grow food for the household to eat.

Foods You Can Buy With Food Assistance Benefits
Households can use food assistance benefits to buy
Breads and cereals;
Fruits and vegetables;
Meats, fish, and poultry;
Dairy products; and
Seeds and plants to grow and produce food for the household to eat.
The challenge is education - both for vendors to provide plants & seeds, and especially, for the end user, to understand and accept that a portion of their allowance will go to grow food that will not be available to eat in the same week they spend the $. Food Stamps create a cycle of dependency on instant gratification and there is rarely surplus $$ in their food stamp allowance to spend on an investment and an uncertain crop that may or may not produce or outlive weather, or bug infestation or other variables. EDUCATION would help assure success and adoption of this most valuable benefit!

[Ben Woodruff]

12:46 PM on 01/20/2013

This is not unexpected is it? People that got undergraduate degrees that had little market value doubled down and got graduate degrees that also have little value. I have plenty of friends with PhDs in English or Master degrees in Women Studies, Med Lit, or comparative studies or the coveted MFA. The schools gladly grant the degrees knowing that there are no jobs there because it is more to enrich the student (and the department).

Just as not all BS are created equal, not all PhD are created equal.

[Derni]

07:52 PM on 12/02/2012

Food stamps and states..UUUMM looks like those using the most food stamps--what the GOP calls socialism-are the same states that don't want Obamacare,,but need it..Sad

[bluejay4444]

03:14 PM on 11/18/2012

There are many things at play. First, people get sucked into going on for more and more education, pulled in by the romance of it and the pride of it and the belief that an advanced degree would some day "guarantee" a higher salary. What REALLY happens is that people put off getting "real" work while they are going on for graduate school so they can have a schedule that revolves around their classes, etc. and often live off of student loans. What happens during this time is they delay entry into the stable and consistent workforce, rack up debt by attending classes, and get lost in the swirl of academia. Meanwhile, the people who just got two or four year degrees had already entered the workforce and had stable jobs in which they could work their way up. THOSE are the people who are doing well now. In turn the people who did not go on for more education but who just entered the workforce and worked their way up ARE THE ONES DOING THE HIRING NOW. When they see "master's" or "PhD" on someone's resume, they toss it out. I have proof of this as I have heard it first hand from at least two HR professionals who are friends of mine. That leaves the overeducated to sit and suffer rejection and find that once the glimmers of romance of academia fail, the lack of a paycheck, lack of an identity etc. kick in... reality is harsh.

[realitytrumpsbull]

10:25 AM on 10/08/2012

A degree is no guarantee of anything. Right now, if you jump on a bus and head for North Dakota, you can get a job as an oilfield worker and make decent money. How bad do you want to earn the Big Buxx?

[msamm70]

03:13 AM on 08/30/2012

what they fail to say is that the new doctors have degree's in which they must teach. When they teach, the student loan for that degree is dismissed, therefore, the student works a few years collects welfare, has a $100,000 student loan basically granted to them and then they go do something else. That's the truth.

[realitytrumpsbull]

10:27 AM on 10/08/2012

Being a professional educator doesn't sound like such a bad gig, until you consider that the internet is upon us, and that your kid's next 'teacher'....might be a computer.

[jeffersontimes]

02:59 PM on 08/25/2012

The education crises, the financial crisis, the health care crisis and so on and so on… while nearly every elected official and their respective party continually adds wars, debt, and undeserved bailouts to the undeserved. These problems are not supply and demand nor market related, but rather a concerted effort to change the social, economic, and moral landscape. The Labor movement and OWS co-opted by the Democratic Party and the Tea Party by the Republican Party, two heads of the same serpent. We must remove our blindfolds created by the political lies, the media propaganda, and the endless rant of mindless entertainment. Be educated, be prepared, and welcome to the coming new medieval (feudal) age.

[STANBB69]

11:39 AM on 08/04/2012

give a man a fish he will eat today -- teach him to fish he will eat forever!!!!!!!!give someone a card that can buy all prepared food the will eat today-----teach them how to cook and buy regular food like the working man and they would save money and be healthy.what % of people receiving snap have medical problems because of what they eat?

[brainburst]

08:06 PM on 12/02/2012

Please seek out some facts before forming an opinion. Most people on "SNAP" are working, many fulltime. Prepared food is sometimes cheaper than fresh food, depending on where you purchase it, when all expenses as well as waste are taken into account..

[STANBB69]

09:23 AM on 12/21/2012

i think ur brianbursted!i can tell you have never went to the grocery store or were on a budget like most taxpayers!prepared food is loaded w/ salt & all types of junk. why do you think there has been such an increase in diabites,obeseady,high blood pressure?wake up, i am tired of working 50 hours a week to pay for people who sit around & don't pay any taxes!

[Ganji]

05:08 PM on 05/14/2012

College is pretty much a money making scam for schools

http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/35-shocking-facts-that-prove-that-college-education-has-become-a-giant-money-making-scam

[CogentThought]

12:47 PM on 05/17/2012

Spoken like someone too stupid to get into college.

[Vindictive]

02:12 PM on 05/18/2012

Bad news for you. Some of the best educators in the world are available FOR FREE on the internet. MIT and Stanford offer complete courses at no charge.

The only value in the degree is that you have someone else supporting your claim that you did the work.

Its cheaper and easier to do the work on your own schedule and create a portfolio that demonstrates your grasp of the concepts instead of buying a piece of paper with some famous dudes signature on it.

Times, they are a changing... and institutionalized for profit education is a vestigial tail on the body of human knowledge.

[laurawee]

10:04 PM on 05/26/2012

Wow, how judgmental you are- what a "stupid" statement. College was a piece of cake and a great party.....Loved it! But seriously, how ready for the real world did we get prepared by those gooney, know it all professors who knew/know nothing about the real world? And they actually get paid for it..... Go figure...

[Vapula]

06:36 PM on 05/12/2012

Having a PhD or any degree doesn't guarantee a job. if your specialization is on something which isn't in demand then you may well be out of work. Doing a PhD on the mating habits of Amazon fruit bats may be interesting but of you want to be a lawyer or a stock broker that qualification is not going to help you.

[K August]

02:17 AM on 05/13/2012

"The sluggish economy has pushed graduates with law degrees to look for jobs outside of the legal profession, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Having a law degree apparently isn't good enough either.

[Vindictive]

02:16 PM on 05/18/2012

I'm not sure where the concept that the only education of value is one that earns massive monetary returns... Anyone can have a job. A paying job is probably a higher priority, but that isn't the point.

Stock brokers and lawyers don't actually ADD anything to society... they are middlemen, not creators. Their job is primarily to find ways to extract value from someone else's product. We don't need MORE of them, we need fewer.

[TiffaniT]

02:24 PM on 12/19/2012

We need fewer lawyers? Remember that the next time you, or anyone you know, gets into trouble with the law. Be sure to represent yourself.

[stopnlisten]

03:49 PM on 05/11/2012

Ah...the GOP job creators world. Isn't it a fun place to live?

[Ganji]

05:06 PM on 05/14/2012

Not sure what you are talking about. How is it the GOPs fault that someone decided to get a degree in a non-marketable major? Unless you are saying all jobs should be government jobs?

[brainburst]

08:13 PM on 12/02/2012

It's at least partly the GOPs fault that the degrees are not marketable! Between cuts to education spending, research, sciences, and arts, encouraging companies to outsource. Their completely anti intellectual attitude. In an environment where people on the congressional science committee believe the earth is 9000 years old, what does a PhD count for. The republican party has declared war on intellectual rigor in everything from the social to hard sciences, historical analysis, economics etc. They are certainly part of the problem!

[stopspending]

10:41 PM on 07/13/2012

You are trying to blame the GOP??? The regulations, taxes, uncertainty that this administration has created is causing job creators to sit on the sidelines. Why try to grow your business just to send it to the gov, the EPA,. NLRB, etc. The worst, though, is to grow your business, become successful and then hear about how you are not "doing your fair share:, Why bother.

[brainburst]

08:14 PM on 12/02/2012

You are parroting Faux news. Prove any one of your points with a specific regulation that has done any of the things you claim it has!!!!

[bethel1974]

12:15 PM on 05/10/2012

7 out of the 10 states are red states that use the most food stamps. But it is African-Americans and "welfare queens" that are the problem. Republican states get off the public dole and produce something for America instead of taking.

[fortressfountain]

08:42 AM on 05/10/2012

I guess they would be better off working in the fields or a walmart. But wait you would still not afford to eat.

[hoapres]

12:14 PM on 05/10/2012

Walmart is swamped with MS and PhD graduates looking for work. You know it is bad when a Walmart cashier has a math degree from UC Berkeley.

[Chipher]

06:23 AM on 05/11/2012

An architect friend from a past life now boasts 'day shift lead at Taco Bell'.
A lead!! Management potential!

[Todd Robertson]

03:09 PM on 05/11/2012

I was a math major who could only find office work. I remember reading about a mathematics prodigy who graduated from some California University who was working at Home Depot a few years ago.

[Chef Emily Brooks]

04:24 AM on 05/10/2012

well . . . that's ONLY if they haven't started their own business. If you own a small business, you are automatically disqualified from receiving assistance (or unemployment benefits).

[mtn gurl]

10:06 AM on 05/24/2012

Interestingly you should look at the stats on "small business" owners... true small businesses with fewer than 20 employees... Typically not only is the owner of the "small business" getting assistance with food stamps or free lunch for their kids but their entire staff is as well- so when I hear small business I think welfare.. I get to make up for their poor business skills and the low wages they pay employees with my tax dollars all while Republicans pass on the myth that small businesses are the key to economic growth.

[laurawee]

10:45 PM on 05/26/2012

Clueless.......

[TiffaniT]

02:32 PM on 12/19/2012

Clueless is an understatement. I'm a small business owner and I get NO kind of government assistance. Neither do any of the others that I know. So, next time you think of small business, think of me.

[mtn gurl]

10:07 AM on 05/24/2012

the above post is incorrect... you can get assistance and most do...

[squirrely girl]

03:11 AM on 05/10/2012

Over 1000 comments and only a small handful address the Wal-Mart "business model" being employed by more and more colleges and universities nowadays that pays and treats it's adjunct faculty no better than serfs... while about half the comments make snide remarks about those individuals' chosen fields :/

[JDolla2323]

12:29 PM on 05/10/2012

Very good point. The adjunct faculty model is worker exploitation, plain and simple. We do this out of necessity, because we believe if we pay our dues and wait our turn, a full time job will eventually come. Often it never does. What needs to happen is adjunct faculty at community colleges and universities across the country need to organize and simply refuse to work until the wages and benefits are raised to at least the poverty level. With these institutions operating using such a large % of adjunct jobs, they would simply be unable to cover their classes, and they would lose millions of dollars in tuition money. Maybe then they would pay attention.

The other issue is that state government is causing a lot of this because of austerity and underfunding of higher ed. Some states are putting half the money in that they did 10 years ago. Of course, in the long run, the people who are hurt by this is - all of us - since it will result in a further dumbed-down, degraded populous.

[laurawee]

10:30 PM on 05/26/2012

LOL, you can't be serious?

[laurawee]

10:28 PM on 05/26/2012

Kind of like what our government is doing, only it's the government- so it's ok? Hmmmm........