WASHINGTON — More than 35 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent from June 2008 and a new record as the country continued to grapple with the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The food stamp program, which helps cover the cost of groceries for one in nine Americans, has grown in step with the U.S. unemployment rate which stood at 9.4 percent in July. The Labor Department will release August employment figures on Friday. June was the seventh straight month in which food stamp rolls set a record. The average benefit in June was $133.12 per person.
Friday, September 4th, 2009
Food Stamp List Soars Past 35 Million: USDA
Author:
Source: Reuters
Publication Date: Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:17pm EDT
Link: Food Stamp List Soars Past 35 Million: USDA
Source: Reuters
Publication Date: Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:17pm EDT
Link: Food Stamp List Soars Past 35 Million: USDA
Stephan: Think about this for a moment. Over 10 per cent of the American population is on food stamps. This is yet further evidence detailing the destruction of the middle class. The fact that a significant percentage of the middle class population is actively working against its own self-interest, is a measure of the power of willful ignorance. It seems hardly credible but, as the townhalls have demonstrated, there it is. I say again, the most significant political fact in America today is that 55 per cent of the population believes the world was created pretty much as it is today within the last 10,000 years.