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Record 35.1 Million Foodstamp Recipients Believe Every Word Of Bernanke's Propaganda
Someone should translate Bernanke's speech extolling the virtues of Goldman Sachs never having to worry about being broken up or giving up its prop trading operations, and that the American economy is sizzling, to the just announced record 35.1 million food-stamp recipients. That's right: a record number of Americans are now subsisting courtesy of foodstamps. One wonders at what point these people say enough and decide to start their own prop trading shops, as that is the only guaranteed way to make money these days. If these millions are allowed to simply replicate Goldman's trading feed, we are confident that the entire economy would recover practically overnight.
Bloomberg reports:
A record 35.1 million people
received food stamps in June as unemployment reached a 26-year
high, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 22 percent increase from a year earlier marked the
seventh straight month of record participation in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The monthly total was
2.1 percent higher than May, the USDA said today in a statement
on its Web site. Spending on benefits also reached a monthly
record at $4.68 billion, 1.7 percent more May.
In addition to 10.2% unemployment, the other factor that just may be a culprit is that wages continues dropping every month on "record productivity" extractions out of the workforce:
Unemployment alone isn’t driving the growth, “it’s also
the low wages” earned by people working fewer hours or whose
pay has been cut, said Jim Weill, president of the Food
Research and Action Center, a Washington, D.C.-based anti-
hunger organization. “Even if unemployment stabilizes, we’ll
see growth in caseloads for the next several months.”
Here is the reason why Goldman should build a collocation facility in Nevada and California pronto:
Utah had the biggest increase in food-stamp participation,
surging 46 percent from a year earlier, followed by Nevada and
the state of Washington at 45 percent, according to the report.
Every state posted a gain from a year earlier and from May.
Texas had the most recipients at 2.94 million, followed
by California with 2.8 million and New York with 2.43 million,
the USDA said.
The average monthly benefit for an individual fell 0.4
percent to $133.12 from June’s record to the lowest level
since March, according to the USDA. For a household of four
the amount fell 0.5 percent to $293.82. Benefits were raised
in April because of funding provided in the $787 billion
stimulus bill Congress passed in February.
Totally off topic, we would like to point out that the Chairman's statement that he sees no "current" bubbles is indicative of the typical Fed lunacy that we have all grown to love and admire. And since we like to give the SEC a helping hand now and then, we would like to extend a favor to the Fed as well. Dear Mr. Bernanke: take a look at the chart below and tell us how gold is now not in a bubble? (we won't even discuss such simple concepts as stocks trading at 20x+ forward P/E). While you are at it, maybe you can explain to the 35 million food stamp recipients what a record price in gold implies for your mythical economic recovery.
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2 tenants of mine just informed me last month that they are now on food stamps. And they have jobs! I guess it's just a matter of vetting your story and applying for the handout.
I was not impressed so I said "If you live in tree with Tarzan you still pay rent or Tarzan throw you from tree".
( DJ ) 11/16 01:50PM *DJ Fed's Fisher: Fed's Job To Maintain Purchasing Power Of US Dollar
another epic fail for the fed!!!!!
The FED has been and will continue to promote DEFLATION. This is not going to change. It just takes a while for everyone to realize it.
I just got my foodstamps which turned out to be gift certificates for Appleby's and Denny's.
That is some sad news and those numbers are from June. Can a person fall off the food stamp roll, like unemployment? Or can you stay on food stamps indefinately as long as you are not earning?
Different states have different rules, some require you to look for work or be in training, some not. Some 2 or 3 years, some have so many loopholes it can go on indefinitely.
I dunno, can't seem to trust Bens knack for spotting bubbles.
It's also know as Too Many Fat Cats.
http://www.altergroup.com/blog/index.php/tags/global-pool-of-money
Following the inflows is a free ride on the coat tales.
Feed the ponzi. Its hongry.
Has anyone broke the news to them that they are lagging indicators?
No worries.
On the bright side, it should help Walmart's Q4.
There have been releases of updated data since the June numbers. The correct number, as of August, is 36,491,920. Available on the USDA Food and Nutrition website under "Data and Statistics".
"One of the evils of paper money is that it turns the whole country into stock jobbers. The precariousness of its value and the uncertainty of its fate continually operate, night and day, to produce this destructive effect. Having no real value in itself it depends for support upon accident, caprice, and party; and as it is the interest of some to depreciate and of others to raise its value, there is a continual invention going on that destroys the morals of the country."
Thomas Paine
We have become Zimbabwe
Nah, I think they were clear they were getting screwed. We are behind the curve on that awareness.
But what inquiring minds REALLY want to know is: what was on the menu? Bartiromo seemed to enjoy it.
I used to believe in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Clause too!:))
I'm really sorry for what is happening to USA.
I'm really sorry for what was the american dream.
Fight against this banks' focused system, not violence, but education!
Mattacchiuz
So Mugabe Jr. has 35 million voters lined up right now.
That's the surest way to win elections. Good job Mugabe Jr.!
why do the Fed (Goldman and their friends) get to counterfeit (print their own money) but the rest of us can't? WTF!
Greenspan buying Gold Bars - says it all (Max Keiser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baXNLHj8xlQ&feature=player_embedded
In-freaking-credible.
Sidebar comment: Why must all broadcast news look like sensationalist crap? I like the message, but the style of the messengers leaves me sad. The message is so important I fear it is too easily dismissed with all the hyperbole and goofiness. It is not just Max Keiser, either.
Ditto Tyler.
The rest of the population simply has no idea. YET.
As I presume you are, as I am, capitalist,
And, of course, the U.S. "markets" are not capitalism anymore.
This is crony money-printing by a mafia-style takeover of the U.S. government Fed and Treasury. The people benefiting from welfare are the Boston/NY mutual fund managers and long day traders who are all cashing in on this government hand out program.
Meanwhile, everyone else just plods through daily life actually working.
I just found out that a good friend of mine has been on food-stamps for some time. Once she said it there was kind of an "oh shit what will they think" pause but really we were happy for her. About 6 months ago my friend's mom lost her job and the dad has been unemployed for a while. So its been on my 25 yr old friend who works at a fitness center to support her family. We were wondering how they got by so to hear that there was something that remained after her folks' unemployment benefits ran out was really a relief.
This is not my only friend where they are the breadwinner for the family. We stopped hoping a long time ago and have a number of small to large "side hustles". My friends and I work hard, with almost every waking hour dedicated to either our jobs or whatever side projects can bring in a couple of extra bucks. But if it were not for COBRA extension I have a friend whose family would be on the streets because of medical bills. If it were not for the housing tax credit several of my friends' incomes would be cut in half. And if it were not for food stamps my friend's mom might well be hungry.
What chance do folks my age (and the families we support) have when we grind out every penny we can and still would be on the streets if not for government assistance? We all used to dream of riches when we were kids, now all we really wanna do is live.
Stay strong and courageous. All this will pass in time. You seem to be a kind-hearted person and I am convinced that good things happen to good people- eventually.
:D
While that is sad to hear, you're seeing government as the savior and not as the source of those problems. Health care costs are high because of government. Unemployment is high because of government. You say that without government's help, you/me/your friend couldn't survive. I say, without governments intervention, none of us would be unemployed, begging for handouts to begin with.
To illustrate my point: Say your government takes 90% of your salary and then sends you food stamps. Are they saving you or putting you in shackles?
There are vicious booms and busts in any capitalist economy, it's inherent. It should be possible for the government to moderate both to some extent, which would provide security and stability to the average person. Less extreme risks fosters greater growth over time. Of course in this case the government enabled and encouraged all the excesses of the boom, up to and including criminal acts of fraud. So they bear the ultimate responsibility for excesses of the bust. Having no government intervention at all would not necessarily be better though.
Regarding booms/busts - The extent of the 'boom' would be proportionally mediated by the bust. When that mediation does not happen (.Gov bailouts), it reinforces, rather than discourages, reckless behavior that leads to bigger and more egregious behaviour/risk taking. A risk by its very nature must have the risk taker face that risk if it were to ocurr -- if they do not, it is no longer a risk. Therefore, the worst booms/busts can only occurr in an environment where the risk taker is protected from that risk.
I'm not a proponant of 'no government intervention'. On the contrary, Government should exist to enforce the law -- to protect inviduals from each other, to enforce contractual agreements, and to provide a a legal enivornment that fosters fair dealings. However, Government, as we know it, actively manipulates markets, breaks contracts, and favors certain groups over others -- it does the exact opposite of what it should.
Is there any problem that can't be blamed on government? If government is taking 90% of your salary, please return through your time machine to the top U.S. tax bracket of the 1950s. Government performs necessary functions, and while there are excesses, these should be reformed rather than abolishing the whole edifice.
I agree with the principle, but this is reality. The principle is not even on the horizon. And if you have paid your taxes, you should be able to collect on these benefits without shame. I agree the gov. is no savior. That is that cat's neighbor's money they are getting back. Thank you soooo damn much Timmahy.
What if a family sends their kids to private school? They still have to pay taxes that go to public school funds. If a private company tried to collect fees for unsolicited services, I believe that would be qualified as theft.
The Federal Government should have the powers granted to it by the constitution, which are not many. The rest goes back to the states. Food stamps, etc, should be based on the state, not a federal handout. Furthermore, unemployment insurance, should be that -- Insurance... it's called insurance, but it isn't, it's simply a distribution of tax revenue. Assistance should be provided on a local level, where the people are known and the risk of fraud is minimized. Do you know how many people get paid under the table, receive a very small taxable salary, and thus manage to qualify for foodstamps and other such services? It's not hard to do. I know it's difficult for honest people to invision this, but most government handouts become a source of opportunity instead of a temporary relief for those in need.
When I visited the US December 2008, I was appalled by the number of people who were being sent bankrupt in middle age due to health costs and prescriptions. My Country has a safety net for people through "medicare" You pay for it as a % of your taxable income. wealthy people can opt for private insurance but they still pay a levy of 2.5% of Taxable income.
Prescriptions are subsidized and have a co payment up to an annual limit then they are free. No one, even visitors are refused medical help. Our Drugs are cheap because one National buyer seeks tenders for those drugs listed on the PBS.
No one goes broke when sick, no one fails to get the best of Hospital care, No one falls through the cracks, and it works. Some people call it "Socialized Medicine" but thats not completely true - We pay for it according to our means.
It works well through competition amongst drug companies, doctors and insurers. The competition keeps the costs lower.
Your trouble is lobbyists bribing for Big pharma. Ban Lobbyists in the US and you will get your Government making sensible change. America will one day go back to its roots and demand untainted Government for the people by the people. Currently Big business owns you. Fight to be heard Locally then across your state, then throughout your great Country.
My father used to say that the government's M.O. was to break your legs and then provide you with crutches -- all the while claiming to be your saviour and asking only for gratitude and votes in return.
Hey Steak----When I was 20, I moved out with my AS degree--into an economic shit-storm worse than today. Harsh times forge you into becoming a competitor among workers, a savvy money manager, an astitute consumer, and with some luck, a prudent homeowner. Tough times dont last--tough people do. Btw, healthcare costs were stagnant under 8 years of Clinton---they wildly outpaced inflation during the Bush reign of terror. Unemployment is only high because America has decided to invest in it's bloated and inefficient military---currently getting their asses kicked in the Middle East--instead of solving the myriad of problem caused by Republicans. There's a need for safety nets--30 years of work for me...much of it in a 35-50% tax bracket--Workers pay for it. We deserve it.
I used to be a democrat. I had to stop when I realized the party system was class warfare designed to keep me at my neighbor's throat instead of having my eye on the ball-- the system and those who benefit from it.
I've always loved the reaction to the word 'tax' that my American friends seem to ooze. Sheer and utter distaste seems to be bred throughout the entire country. Yet not a single flinch at the word inflation, which I liberally define as a tax imposed, not by the government, but by the business community. Afterall, it has the same wealth destruction characteristics as a tax imposed by a central government.
Slightly off topic but this article (at least the first paragraph) got the old hamster spinning a wheel in my under-proportioned cranium.
ZeroHedge has clued me into many topics I probably would have missed if I solely used MSM sources. One of which was Gordon Brown talking to the global community about a tax on financial transactions. Something completely rejected by everyone else at the conference including the US and my home country, Canada. What occured to me was that us ZH'ers (maybe its just me) also believe that Goldman controls the US government (and perhaps many others) or vice versa. At any rate, isn't this HFT, dark pools, and other 'guaranteed profits' crap just another tax. While the US takes the political position of not supporting tax on global financial transactions, they are essentially doing so, at arms lenght, by skimming the equity markets. Why... because if they use the word tax, there will be 10X more revolt than instigating inflation.
Vote with your dollar, not your ballot. It seems to be the only true proxy.
one of the things that ticks me off, is calling social security, unemployment and medicare entitlements, like they're a gift of largesse, burdening the gov budget. we have been paying for these programs out of every paycheck we get, from day 1 . we've had no control of those monies, and now that we know the $$ has already been spent on other shit, we are supposed to trust the gov to continue to supervise our financial wellbeing, and feel grateful to boot. FUCK YOU
This is the point, it is our collective wealth. The mob would treat us better.
For anyone interested, here is a hunger map: http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-map.aspx . Things will get real interesting when unemployment runs out.
we are not going to turn into a bunch of desperate savages preying on each other. we are going to share as best we can and work together to provide for ourselves and each other. we can thrive without exploiting each other. all progress in society has been the result of co-operation of the many, and the sacrifice of the few.
I hope you are right. That would be the best possible outcome, possibly an improvement on what we are doing now.
Wow.
Who is this "we" you're so confident in? It certainly doesn't reflect the world I live in.