As of March of this year, 47.7 million Americans are now on some form of food stamps. Between 2000 and 2012, the number of Americans resorting to food stamps increased more than 171%. In 2000, there were just 17.1 million Americans on food stamps. (Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, June 7, 2013.)
There are more individuals on food stamps in the U.S. economy than the entire population of Spain—46.17 million. (Source: World Bank web site, last accessed June 21, 2013.)
That costs the government money. The expenditure for food stamps in 2012 was $74.6 billion, almost 116% higher than what it paid in 2008. That’s a cost that could pick up even more speed if, as all indicators show, inflation begins to rise.
The key stock indices in the U.S. economy have skyrocketed since the Great Recession, due in large part to money printing, but the average American Joe hasn’t seen his living conditions improve—in fact, they have actually deteriorated.
Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor
Related Posts
US poverty rate at 15 per cent in 2011; record numbers of poor persist
US poverty rate at 15 per cent in 2011; record numbers of poor persist The report comes less than two months before the November presidential election, where the still-weak U.S. economy is the top issue for voters deciding between the leading candidates, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. Experts had … http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/us-poverty-rate-at-15-per-cent-in-2011-record-numbers-of-poor-persist-169483156.html
US / Suburban poverty soars
Poverty is growing faster in the suburbs than anywhere else in the United States, soaring 64% over the past decade. That was more than twice the growth rate of the urban poor population, according to the Brookings Institution, which has released Confronting Suburban Poverty in America. There are now almost 16.4 million suburban residents living … Continue reading »
US / Census Bureau / New poverty measure, higher than the official measure, at 16.1 percent
Officially, the U.S. poverty rate in 2011 was 15 percent exactly, a 0.1 point reduction from 2010. But as I pointed out when that number was released in September, that figure doesn’t mean a whole lot. The official poverty threshold is the amount of money a family of three would have to make to spend … Continue reading »
Job Market Monitor 
Discussion
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Pingback: Fast-food workers in US / More than half are enrolled in one or more public programs | Job Market Monitor - October 16, 2013
Pingback: US – About 14.7 million people, or 4.7 percent of the population, were near-poor in 2012 | Job Market Monitor - May 2, 2014