Friday, October 08, 2010

Food Stamp Nation

Close to 43 million people now receive food stamps. The average recipient of food stamps in June 2010 received more than $133 in assistance. The average household received more than $293. Overall, the USDA distributed more than $4.6 billion in food stamps in June alone. (Congress established the food stamp program in 1964, which was then revised by the Food Stamp Act of 1977. The program now feeds one in eight Americans, and one in four children.)

A once proud and powerful nation is fast becoming a "third-world nation.” The only way out of our dilemma is for the government to foster private-sector job initiatives, not public-sector jobs. As I have been saying for almost two years, "It's all about the jobs, stupid." Today, the BLS reported that the unemployment rate held steady at 9.6%, which is definitely understated. When you look at the number of individuals that have been removed from the employment statistics and/or just given up looking for a job, the unemployment rate is 17.1%. In other words, no private-sector job growth means no income, no consumer spending, and no capital formation & investment, which simply leads to a very bleak picture for our economy going forward.

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