Foodstamps Surge By Most In One Year To New All Time Record & Hourly Earnings Tumble To New All Time Lows

While there had been speculation that the BLS may delay the release of its October nonfarm payroll number until after the election, it turned out there was no reason to worry. Perhaps this is because the number, while at stall speed, was not quite as horrible as some had expected (even if the change in average hourly earnings did tumble to new all time lows) and so boosted Obama's reelection chances. There was, however, another closely tracked number which perhaps is far more indicative of the economic "growth" in the past 4 years, which certainly had a delayed release. The number of course is that showing how many Americans are on foodstamps, and usually is released at the end of the month, or the first day or two of the next month. This time the USDA delayed its release nine days past the semi-official deadline, far past the election, and until Friday night to report August foodstamp data. One glance at the number reveals why: at 47.1 million, this was not only a new all time record, but the monthly increase of 420,947 from July was the biggest monthly increase in one year. One can see why a reported surge in foodstamps ahead of the elections is something the USDA, and the administration may not have been too keen on disclosing.



Foodstamps at the household level also rose to a record 22.685 million:



Finally, going back to the start of the official start of the depression in December 2007. In the 57 months from then until August 2012, there have been 4.6 million jobs lost even as Americans on foodstamps and disability have risen by 21.2 million.



And the same shown on a monthly basis:



Delay explained.

Source: USDA and SSA

---

Peter Schiff: How Barack Obama Secured The Most Important Voting Demographic, The Idiots

Eight Charts All The Equity Bulls May Want To Take A Look At (Plus Some Recent Threads) The Working Group On Financial Markets Light Is On Shining In The Sky!

Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: Welfare Government’s Single Largest Budget Item In FY 2011 At Approx. $1.03 Trillion

U-3 And The U-6: Unemployment 7.8% To 22% - Is There A Better Method?

Dependent voters are dependable voters.

Dependent voters are dependable voters. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

I couldn't have said it better.

Dependent voters are dependable voters. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Dude it's not their fault that all the jobs have been shipped overseas and the bankers have lost all our nation's wealth in speculations.

The real unemployment and underemployment rates are nearly at depression levels.

What's covering up the harms is all the spending on unemployment insurance, food aid and other services which weren't available in the 1930s.

In 1934 under the Nazis Germany completely eliminated their employment issues by giving everyone in the country a temporary government job, and by 1936 they were the only country in the world [except for perhaps Facist Italy] to have escaped the depression, which went on everywhere else until WWII ended it.

There are real solutions to these problems, but it takes really bold, revolutionary and transformational change.

The puny efforts of our timid and feckless politicians are pathetic.

TAE, you have fallen for the illusion that they actually want to solve problems. They don't. They want to create more, so they have more issues to demagogue their opponents with at election time.

TAE, you have fallen for the illusion that they actually want to solve problems. They don't. They want to create more, so they have more issues to demagogue their opponents with at election time. Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

They don't give a shit about solving anything.

Sometimes they exaggerate existing problems so they can pretend to be the saviors and protectors.

Othertimes they pander to public fears.

Politicians are about pandering, and have a beggers personality.

They do nothing about any real harms to anyone because they're totally indifferent to the suffering of any living thing.

They start wars with no consideration of the consequences to anyone, among other crimes.

Maybe what's needed is a temporary dictator, an Emperor or something, that we can draft to take us out of this mess by decree and force.

I don't think democracy is working anymore.

Actually, democracy is working just as it is supposed to. The majority will tyrannize the minority until we have a totalitarian police state.

That's why our Founders tried their hardest to avoid creating a democracy.