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trader1
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 03:10
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https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... hdHJrK42P0
Quote:

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- A record 33.8 million people received food stamps in April, up 20 percent from a year earlier, as unemployment surged toward a 26-year high, government figures show. Spending also jumped, as the average benefit rose.
It was the fifth straight month of record participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and up 1.8 percent from the prior month. Total spending was $4.5 billion, up 19 percent from the previous all-time high reached in March, the USDA said.

The government is boosting food aid in response to a jobless rate that rose to 9.5 percent in June from 9.4 percent in May. An additional $20 billion over five years was authorized for nutrition assistance in the $787 billion stimulus bill Congress passed in February.

Utah had the biggest increase in the number of recipients from a year earlier, 46 percent, while South Dakota had the steepest jump from March, 6.4 percent.
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(hmmmm...what's going on in Utah...)
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 03:40
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I hate it when they talk about "record numbers". Every year the US population increases, so naturally we'll see record numbers of unemployed and people on food stamps.

A more realistic measure would be the percentage of people on food stamps.

I mean, do you go around telling people that your salary is at a "record high" this year?

RF
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 04:18
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refurb
I hate it when they talk about "record numbers". Every year the US population increases, so naturally we'll see record numbers of unemployed and people on food stamps.

A more realistic measure would be the percentage of people on food stamps.

I mean, do you go around telling people that your salary is at a "record high" this year?

RF
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found the following:

https://www.reuters.com/article/domestic ... 9420090708
Quote:

Food stamps helped one in nine Americans buy groceries during April, according to Agriculture Department figures. The average benefit of $133.28 per person was up $40 due to a short-term increase under the economic stimulus package.
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That corresponds to 11.1% of the American population that is currently receiving food stamps...

https://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/04/foo ... orget.html

According to the chart on the above blog page which goes back to unfortunately only 1975, April's rate of 11.1% for food stamp receivers/population is at a record high.
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 12:18
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trader1

That corresponds to 11.1% of the American population that is currently receiving food stamps...

https://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/04/foo ... orget.html

According to the chart on the above blog page which goes back to unfortunately only 1975, April's rate of 11.1% for food stamp receivers/population is at a record high.
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I would assume that 1 in 9 is a "round" figure.

It was 10.5% back in 1994.

I wouldn't save we're anywhere near crisis levels right now.

An interesting quote from the wikipedia article:

Quote:

CNN reporter Sean Callebs did an experiment where he spent the month of February 2009 eating only as much food as what a person could get with food stamps. At the end of the experiment, he said that he had eaten pretty well, and that the biggest drawback was a social one, not a nutritional one, because he could not go out to eat at restaurants with friends.
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RF
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 12:33
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refurb


I wouldn't save we're anywhere near crisis levels right now.

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I agree with you. And, the worst is probably yet to come.

refurb

CNN reporter Sean Callebs did an experiment where he spent the month of February 2009 eating only as much food as what a person could get with food stamps. At the end of the experiment, he said that he had eaten pretty well, and that the biggest drawback was a social one, not a nutritional one, because he could not go out to eat at restaurants with friends.
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I believe it. But, food stamps won't mean much when there are food shortages and food rationing should America go into a hyper-inflationary spiral and into another Depression.
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 13:32
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But, food stamps won't mean much when there are food shortages and food rationing should America go into a hyper-inflationary spiral and into another Depression.
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I sure hope you're wrong.

What scares the crap out of me right now is the fact they are talking about a second "stimulus package" AND Obama wants to redo the health care system AND he wants to push "green" measure that will further burden the economy.

Where are we supposed to get all this money? The debt was bad enough before all this new spending started!!

RF
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 13:51
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refurb
trader1

But, food stamps won't mean much when there are food shortages and food rationing should America go into a hyper-inflationary spiral and into another Depression.

I sure hope you're wrong.

What scares the crap out of me right now is the fact they are talking about a second "stimulus package" AND Obama wants to redo the health care system AND he wants to push "green" measure that will further burden the economy.

Where are we supposed to get all this money? The debt was bad enough before all this new spending started!!

RF
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I hope I'm wrong too! But, my motto for the last few years has been the following: expect and prepare for the worst case scenario. And, no, I haven't stockpiled any food or guns and ammo. Though, these will come in handy if TSHTF....

It's a bit disconcerting to watch the direction of US fiscal, economic, and social policies. Though, I imagine that in the end, the we will make it through everything. My fears are that we (and the world included) will have to suffer through some tough times before we really get back on a sound foundation again.

I'm not sure if you are familiar with Kondratiev waves or any other cycle theory, but a Kondratiev Winter period would call for an entire reset of the financial/monetary system as we know it. The consequences of this are manifold.
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U.S. Food-Stamp Recipients Reached Record 33.8 Million 09 Jul 2009, 14:05
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refurb
trader1

But, food stamps won't mean much when there are food shortages and food rationing should America go into a hyper-inflationary spiral and into another Depression.

I sure hope you're wrong.

What scares the crap out of me right now is the fact they are talking about a second "stimulus package" AND Obama wants to redo the health care system AND he wants to push "green" measure that will further burden the economy.

Where are we supposed to get all this money? The debt was bad enough before all this new spending started!!

RF
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I guess if they run out of everything .. they'll just print new dollar bills. Yeah, I wish it was that simple.