Food stamp usage hits record high: 34 million

Food stamp usage hits record high: 34 million

rawstory.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For the first time, more than 34 million Americans received food stamps in May, the government said on Thursday, another symptom of the longest and one of the deepest recessions since the Great Depression.

Enrollment surged by 2 percent to reach a record 34.4 million people, or one in nine Americans, in the latest month for which figures are available.

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Although the MSM is trumpeting an economic turnaround there are disturbing signs that indicate otherwise.

It was announced earlier this week with great fanfare that unemployment improved from 9.5% to 9.4% but the increase in food stamps seems to tell a different story.

Also many food banks and charitable organizations are reporting a vast increase in the amount of people using their services among them many children. They have also reported shortages due to lack of funding.

The fed appears to be buying our own debt. That is a huge red flag pointing to a grim future.

The MSM seems more and more like a frightened child whistling in the dark hoping it will go away if they just close their eyes and keep printing Michael Jackson stories.



rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm a Canadian and have no familiarity with "food stamps". What are they and how do they work?

reply to post by red_leader


They're just like a government credit card. The only way you know somebody's using food stamps at the checkout is by the contents of their cart - frozen pizzas, twinkies and eight or nine cases of soda. Nothing else.

[edit on 8/7/2009 by mythatsabigprobe]

I think that the unemployment figures are inaccurate. To my understanding, they reflect people currently eligible for (and collecting) unemployment compensation. Once your benefits run out, you are no longer counted. So yeah, the drop fro m9.5% to 9.4% probably indicates that the problem continues to get worse, but that many people have been out of work so long that they no longer qualify for benefits.

I wonder what the difference is between a recession and a depression. I'm not sure that difference is meaningful.

reply to post by chiron613

I wonder what the difference is between a recession and a depression. I'm not sure that difference is meaningful.

A not so funny joke about the difference between a recession and a depression is, in a recession your neighbor is out of a job, in a depression you are out of a job.

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They are getting their numbers from the U3 unemployment roll, which is people on collecting unemployment. A more accurate number is U6 unemployment rate, but then that isn't even accurate.

The food stamps numbers indicate things are far worse then what they are also the drop in unemployment when we still lost a quarter of a million jobs is disturbing.

They can paint a rosy picture, but the people in the trench see things in reality not the picture they would like people to see.

Don't worry. The Stimulus Package Worked. We will all be living in mansions eating caviar any day now!

I'm already pricing first class seats to tour the world with my Obama money. Why worry about food when any day now we will be able to buy the whole grocery store and drive around in our new Ferrari's.

Sorry, I'm actually going to take a some cases of food to a local food bank. Even though we have had growth here, the housing price has driven lots of families into the streets. Some have jobs but can't afford rent.

I was going to start my own thread about food stamps and rant a bit but i will just post here. I was at the store the other day and witnessed a woman wearing a beautiful watch and dressed to the hilt with her BCBG shoes and her gucci purse and smelling like she was wearing dolce perfume and yes she was using the lone star card. Thats the food stamp card here in texas. I was sickened by this. My girlfriend who has no hold of her tongue popped of to the lady and said "hey oh wow you got a lonestar card? Wow how do i get one of those? I could really use the extra cash in these tough times." LOL
The woman wa sless than imipressed and didnt aswer her but i think she got the point. She was obviously not in need and was screwing the system to get a little extra. When we walked out she was driving off in her escalade. I guess with gas prices being what they are you cant drive an escalade and eat at the same time so you need foodstamps.
I cant stand it when there is so much misuse of what i would deem necessary for some people to survive yet some are getting it like a free meal ticket from the government.
Now onto my exwife. I am raiding our son who is 9 years old this month and she lives with her boyfriend in a 3 bedroom trailer with 7 other people. Yes thats right 7 of them and she gets food stamps and so does 2 of the others who live there. All total i think they add up to 1500 dollars a month in food stamps because one of the ladys there has 3 kids and my daughter who is 17 going on 18 lives with her mom so mom claims her. Soon as my daughter turns 18 i think she has plans to go file herself since she doesnt have a job and doesnt intend to get one.
Yes they go buy pizzas and sodas and steaks and twinkies and eat way better than me or my son do. I work 4 days a week 12 hour shifts at my hospital to pay the bills and raise this kid in a clean house free of cat and dog poop on the floor and dirty clothes pilled high as the wall like his momma does. So why the hell am i having to take it in the rear and fight and claw just to eat what i can afford when they get to eat like kings and buy cigarettes and booze and eat on my tax dollars. I cannot stand this anymore. The worst of it is they flaunt it like look at us we getting paid yall. LOL I cant even say anything cause if i mention that they are eating on my tax money they get bent and wanna argue politics with me like they have a brain one among them. I guess its all that rich food going to their heads.
What ever happened to let them eat cake cause damn if some of them dont deserve it. I am sick and tired of watching lazy ass people get more than me on the governments dime that i am paying for while good hard working people take it up the rear by the government.

Anyways not sure what can be done if anything. Shows just how bad and jacked up things are.
BTW i was once on food stamps a very very long time ago. I was like 21 or 22 and me and the wife had our daughter who was i think 2 at the time and we both lost our jobs. Took me 2 months to get a job and once i did i was off the stamps and paying my way again because its how my father raised me to be a man. If oyu aint working and taking care of your family your not a man.
Dont mean that harsh to men out there who are really trying and cant find work because of the way the times are just mean it as a slap to men who dont try and let the wifes work while they sit at home playing call of duty 5