Reform cuts off 30,000 Michigan students' food stamps.

College students in Michigan have a new worry as they return to classes this fall--what to eat. Under Michigan's liberal rules, college students, a group that is normally disqualified from receiving food stamps, were eligible to receive them and until now, have used them to defray the costs of their schooling. In an effort to cut back on fraud, waste, and abuse in a financially troubled state, many students have been cut off. The move has been praised by some who feel the students should be more self-sufficient, while others see it as an added hardship in difficult times.

class="MsoNoSpacing">LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - The initial savings of the decision to cut off 30,000 students from food stamps is expected to bring $75 million back to Michigan state's coffers where the money can be redirected to other programs. It is also expected to encourage students to search for work while attending classes, a move that many have praised, but that others have criticized, pointing out the weak economy and high unemployment.

Michigan state has been a leading welfare state with some of the largest welfare rolls in the nation. Abuse of the food stamp program has been widespread and they have been taken for granted by many. The abuse became a hot issue politically, after a Michigan resident, Leroy Fick of Auburn, won $2 million in the lottery but continued to receive and use food stamps. The outcry that followed simply highlighted the abuse inherent in the way the program was being managed and made scrutiny and change inevitable.

While the $75 million uptick in revenues are badly needed in Michigan, many students who previously received the assistance are at a loss for what to do. While simply getting a job is the natural response, the nature of the economy, the rigors of full-time schooling, and the challenge of finding a job sans experience, makes the state's decision to change the program particularly galling for some.

Added to the difficulty, is that tuition costs have skyrocketed over the years, making higher education increasingly unaffordable for more and more people.

For now, some students remain on the program and others are having their eligibility reviewed. And for the 30,000 who were cut off this week, the cost of going to school has just gone up--by average the price of a new textbook.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'