SNAP Benefits by Income and Household Size

Below, Corrections depicts SNAP (food stamp) benefits by income and household size (click to enlarge).  We assume no elderly individuals in the household, but do assume 3% of income is spent on childcare.  ($300/year for (So an income of $30,000 would spend $900/year on child care).

Note the sudden drop-offs. For a family of two, going from earning $19500 to earning $19,750 (earning $250 more) sees a net decrease of total income (including food stamps) from $19,935 to $19,750:  a decrease of  $185 in total income in return for earning $250 more prebenefit.

Whatever one's beliefs about government programs, everyone can agree it makes little sense to implicitly tax the poor at rates above 100% (end up with less for making more), as programs like SNAP do.