1st Term: Americans Collecting Disability Hits All-Time Record

During President Barack Obama’s first term, the number of Americans collecting federal disability insurance increased by 1,385,418 to a record 8,827,795.

As a result, there is now one person collecting disability in this county for every 13 people working full-time. Forty-two years ago, in December 1968, there were 51 people working full-time in this country for each person collecting disability.

In January 2009, the month Obama was inaugurated, there were 7,442,377 Americans collecting federal disability insurance, according to the Social Security Administration. By December 2012, the latest month reported, there were 8,827,795 collecting disability, an increase of 1,385,418. With 115,868,000 people working full-time in December, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there was 1 person collecting disability for every 13 people working full-time. Read more >>

New all time record number of 45.8 billion on food stamps

As the European news flow overflow continues, it is useful to occasionally look at how America's own economy is doing. After all remember that the latest paradigm is that the US will decouple from everyone (as is always foolishly and erroneously assumed whenever the ROW turns lower) and carry the weight of the global economy on its own shoulders. So here is this month's refresh from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which informs us that in August, a new all time record number of Americans, or 45.8 billion, relied on food stamps for sustenance. More...

Americans Receiving Food Stamp Soars to Nearly 41 million

Image via Wikipedia

The number of Americans receiving federal aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps, soared to a record 40.8 million in May, according to government data released shortly before the Senate voted to cut billions from the food stamps budget.

The Senate voted Thursday to cut $12 billion from the program in order to help fund a $26 billion package to help states avoid teacher layoffs.

But according to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, the number of people on the food stamp rolls has been growing to record levels for 18 straight months. Nearly $5.5 billion in aid went out to beneficiaries in May alone. The number of May recipients marked a 19 percent increase from a year ago.

"That is a historic high," USDA spokeswoman Jean Daniel said.

The sustained increase in food stamp recipients coincides with sustained high unemployment. The jobless rate dipped to 9.5 percent in June, but has hovered above 9 percent since mid-2009. More...

US food stamps set ever-higher record-32.8 million

Reuters
A record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count, up 246,000 from the previous month and the latest in record-high monthly tallies that began in December 2008.

Food stamps are the primary federal anti-hunger program, helping poor people buy groceries. The Agriculture Department updated enrollment data on Friday with a preliminary figure for November.

USDA estimates up to $58 billion will be spent on food stamps this fiscal year, which ends Sept 30, with average enrollment of 40.5 million people. Food stamps were renamed the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in 2008.

Participation has surged since the financial-market turmoil of late 2008 and has set records each month since December 2008, when it reached 31.78 million. Enrollment is highest during times of economic distress.

More than 1 in 6 Tennesseans on food stamps

wkrn.com
More and more Tennesseans are turning to food stamps to make ends meet. Nearly 1,186,000 Tennesseans, or more than one in six residents, currently receive some kind of food stamp assistance and the number continues to climb.

At the start of each month, the lines are always long at the Department of Human Services' family assistance office just north of downtown. News 2 caught up with Kathy Bruce while she waited in line on Monday.

Her husband suffered a massive heart attack two weeks ago and will be out of work for the next two months. "We can't live on my paycheck alone so I thought we could at least get help with food," she told News 2. "When you are down and out, you are willing to go to any lengths to get what you need."

For Amanda Higgins and her 16-month-old son, food stamps are their sole means of support.

"[Food stamps are] extremely important," she told News 2. "My son has got to have milk, my son has to have rice, snacks, all the things to eat, and so do I, you can see I am a pretty thin person."

The staggering 1,186,000 Tennesseans on food stamps today is some 300,000 more than just two years ago. Between mid-2007 and mid-2009, the number of people receiving assistance grew 66%.

Residents can apply for food stamps at the facility located at 1000 2nd Avenue North or on the Department of Human Services' Web site.

Record 36 Million Americans on Food Stamps

Reuters reports the number of Americans receiving food stamp assistance soared above 36 million for the first time in August, the eighth month in a row that enrollment set a record, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.

USDA said 36.492 million people were receiving food stamps, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In July, enrollment stood at 35.851 million. At the current rate, an estimated one in eight Americans receive benefits.

The program, which helps poor people buy food, has seen enrollment jump by 4.707 million during 2009 amid a lingering economic downturn in the United States. Participation grew by 2 million people from May to August.

In the latest data, the average person received $132.99 in August, compared with $101.31 in August 2008.

A Record 35 Million on Food Stamps

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Record breaking numbers received food stamps in June, the Department of Agriculture said on Thursday, with more than 35 million Americans receiving assistance. The numbers are 22 percent higher than in June 2008. The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose by more than 700,000 people compared to May. The USDA administers the food stamp program, which was renamed in October as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, through its Food and Nutrition Service. The program helps to cover grocery costs for poor Americans.

The average recipient of food stamps in June 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. They went to 35,122,123 recipients. June was the eighth straight month that the number of people on food stamps rose.