Generation X is those born between 1965 and 1980. The US debt ceiling deal targets Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) recipients between the ages of 50 and 54. It adds new requirements that they must work 20 hours a week to receive aid.
Many elderly people in the US are dependent on benefits to get by. Photo: Reuters
After weeks of negotiations, McCarthy and Biden reached a tentative deal late Saturday. The deal still needs to be approved by Congress before it can be signed into law. Republicans argue that the new requirements in the bill will encourage people to return to work.
People with dependents — including children under 18 or elderly people who depend on them, or people with disabilities — have been exempt from these work requirements and will remain so. The agreement also exempts veterans and the homeless.
There are about 65 million Gen Xers in the US. As a group, they have seen their wealth skyrocket under the Trump administration and even during the COVID pandemic. But hundreds of thousands of Gen Xers living below or near the poverty line could be affected by the new requirements.
SNAP benefits are available to Americans with incomes below 130% of the federal poverty level, which equates to about $1,500 a month for a one-person household or $2,000 for a two-person household in many areas.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that before the temporary increases during the COVID pandemic, these benefits averaged about $121 per person per month, or about $4 per person per day.
Mai Anh (according to Reuters)
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