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how a loss of public benefits harms democracy salon com subscribe search news politics culture food science health money life stories video reviews lifestyle the new sober boom getting hooked on quitting education liberal arts cuts are dangerous is college necessary finance dying parents costing millennials dear gen z investing in le creuset crypto investing sec vs celebrity crypto promoters dark personalities drawn to btc news politics culture food science health money life stories video reviews lifestyle the new sober boom getting hooked on quitting education liberal arts cuts are dangerous is college necessary finance dying parents costing millennials dear gen z investing in le creuset crypto investing sec vs celebrity crypto promoters dark personalities drawn to btc subscribe help keep salon independent newsletter news politics culture food science health money video search advertisement how a loss of public benefits harms democracy when public programs like snap are cut voter turnout historically declines by nicole karlis senior writer published november 8 2025 6 30am est photo illustration by salon getty images facebook x reddit email save in 2004 phil bredesen the former democratic governor of tennessee made significant changes to the state s medicaid program tenncare such as eliminating eligibility expansions the state federal program was established in 1965 to provide health coverage for low income people it was known to be one of the country s most generous medicaid programs but bredesen said it had become unsustainable to maintain and that the budget needed to be trimmed back to something that the state could afford at the time patient advocacy groups warned it would take away health insurance from hundreds of thousands of people researchers later found the policies resulted in the removal of coverage for an estimated 3 percent of all tennesseans while people s individual health suffered researchers found another consequence of the move a decline in voter turnout we find that in counties with the largest medicaid losses there were the sharpest declines in voter turnout in the gubernatorial election following the cuts jamila michener who co authored the research told salon specifically counties with larger medicaid enrollment declines saw larger decreases in voter turnout between 2002 and 2006 related blue states fight against trump shutdown the main takeaway is that large scale loss of public benefits can be demobilizing just as large scale gains can be mobilizing said michener who is an associate professor of government at cornell university where she studies poverty racial inequality and public policy advertisement today the united states is in the middle of a crisis as a result of the longest government shutdown in u s history the ongoing shutdown meant snap benefits were bound to lapse most recently the trump administration said it would partially fund the federal assistance program following a court order still this would leave millions of low income americans without their full food assistance benefits research published on nov 7 in the journal pediatrics showed even children with snap benefits are food insecure particularly those who are older with public or no insurance with special health care needs and from lower income households partially funded assistance will be harmful for many families and it s not just snap that s faced an uncertain future since the trump administration has taken office other publicly funded programs like medicaid have been on shaky ground as well crises tend to cascade and compound as this happens people are less likely to vote michener said that losing food benefits is not only a crisis in itself but it can lead to other crises for example if a family has to re route money that would have been used to pay rent or insurance to pay for food that could risk a family facing eviction or losing health insurance advertisement crises tend to cascade and compound michener said as this happens people are less likely to vote there are important exceptions she said for example when there s a personal crisis it can boost political participation in the context of high political saliency and clarity of perceived responsibility citing research in the journal political behavior indeed some crises like natural disasters can mobilize people to take action in the immediate aftermath sociologists refer to a community coming together in the wake of a crisis as bounded solidarity because people are bound by the crisis alejandro portes a prominent sociologist at princeton university first introduced the term in a paper published in the annual review of sociology in 1998 it is a source of social capital that is elicited by providing people feeling a sense of communality or loyalty with others in their own particular community he told me in a phone interview for my book your brain on altruism it briefly causes people to see themselves as a collective not as individuals and can create a different kind of solidarity than what exists in non crisis times but that usually fades over time start your day with essential news from salon sign up for our free morning newsletter crash course it s possible michener said that a looming loss of snap benefits could have actually motivated people to vote in the nov 4 elections because the full effects hadn t been felt yet a direct loss of resources can sometimes dampen political participation but since most people haven t felt those losses for very long at this point that is not likely for yesterday s election michener told salon after the election instead the threat of losing food support creates a crisis for many people and the salience of the issue could have motivated them to vote in response advertisement we need your help to stay independent subscribe today to support salon s progressive journalism but overall chipping away at public benefits harms democracy and can lead to a decline in voter turnout public benefit losses politically demobilize and demoralize low income americans the very people who already struggle to have voice and influence in politics and the people who have the most at stake in holding elected officials accountable michener said this puts all of democracy on shakier ground no matter which party wins democracy loses read more about this topic federal agencies go maga amid shutdown jd vance s shutdown bet maga loves racism more than health care trump exploits shutdown to punish states that backed harris advertisement by nicole karlis by more from related topics democracy politics science snap voting related articles advertisement advertisement home about staff contact privacy terms of service archive go ad free copyright 2026 salon com llc reproduction of material from any salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited salon is registered in the u s patent and trademark office as a trademark of salon com llc associated press articles copyright 2016 the 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