http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/12/08/food-stamp-rolls-continue-to-rise/ More people tapped food stamps to pay for groceries in September as the recession and lackluster recovery have prompted more Americans to turn to government safety net programs to make ends meet. Some 42.9 million people collected food stamps last month, up 1.2% from the prior month and 16.2% higher than the same time a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nationwide 14% of the population relied on food stamps as of September but in some states the percentage was much higher. In Washington, D.C., Mississippi and Tennessee â the states with the largest share of citizens receiving benefits â more than a fifth of the population in each was collecting food stamps.
OVER 45 million live in poverty. The gap between the rich and poor is the widest ever!!!!! The Bubble ben bernanke bailout only helped the rich and wealthy. The rest of the hundreds of millions of people are still struggling. An upward stock market doesn't do ANYTHING for those on food stamps. Its a complete joke!!!
But the recession ended over a year ago ..... how can more people be on food stamps? The idiots in Washington don't get it. What's totally flawed in extending the tax cuts for the ultra wealthy is that pro athletes, CEO's, Wall Street bankers and anyone else making millions would NOT be hurt by paying the higher rates. The idiots who suggest that the extra $$ they keep will be pumped back into the economy are clueless. For the most part it'll go into portfolios/investments and do virtually nothing to stimulate the economy. And I see the poverty 3 days per week when I volunteer at an inner city school. 99% of the kids get free/reduced lunch. This latest compromise between Democrats and Republicans shows that the Simpson-Bowles recommendation to take drastic action has fallen on deaf ears.
just watch CNBC, those are those idiots, who keep preaching as if with magic resolve, that ALL should have the tax cut, now, this morning they were arguing with someone on how much the tax cut to the middle class (what's left of them) would increase the deficit there is something seriously flawed with those weird program announcers and commentators.. cold, heartless, cynical, willing to lie and misdirect away from any form of the truth in the economic reports all for their political means and beliefs.... what an abuse of their ability to broadcast supposedly neutral news events... ------ it used to be in the Finance / Economic field and in academics that whenever you spoke of foodstamps, welfare, public assistance, unemployment insurance you were speaking in code for the African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Native-Americans and other poor persons and those not endowed with expensive education credentials. not so anymore. the dragnet has caught everyone not liquid net worth in the positive tens of millions dollar range, everyone!
The country needs to reset... As long as we are bailing bad banks and over priced real estate we are going to see the dichotomy of the rich getting richer. This is part of the game for the banks. They take back assets when bubble's burst. This is what greenspan and now bernanke planned. The democrats are even more complicit with the bankers than the republicans. Who do you think wall street sends the money too. Dodd, Frank and all the other democratic jokes helped create over priced real estate. we need tax breaks, lower spending, and no bank bailouts let the economy reset. We also need to stop subsidizing grain exports and deplete our aquifers to do it but that is another story. Then as the economy hits bottom you pour on the social services, raise tariffs and provide economic rebuilding zones. Pick industries to support and tell them the do not have to pay taxes for 5 years. Between that and tariffs you will see jobs come back and investors see the chance to profit. What Congress and the President are doing now is a drain on our economy and slow destruction of our standard of living.
The announcers are classic narcissits. So long as they have a job reading the teleprompter and achieve some level of fame, all is well in the world. I'm sure after enough years of just standing around and practicing their delivery of the news, they no longer even care or spend a moment thinking about WHAT they are actually delivering to the mostly braindead public. At least some of the slightly more in-touch reporters actually feign concern when they report some dire news, the others actually smile their way thru it. It is a sight to behold.
hmmm, over a 12 trillion dollar deficit, hidden from public accounting and reporting, mostly on a war (which helped re-elect that nightmare) perhaps it would be too much of a stretch to be balanced in condemning both instead of just one group... perhaps we are so selectively blind and one-sided that it will continue to be used during each news cycle, each campaign, each tea bagger rant/rave, because hey, we only see what we want to and blame those who help shape our view of the world.. isn't that how we got here in the first place, instead of being objective and balanced and holding everyone accountable? seriously
I was responding to a thread which seemed to be blaming republicans. I was not absolving republicans... they were complete traitors bought and sold by lobbyists who had 8 years to fix the country and they did dog shit and spent their asses off.