Record 47,791,996 on food stamps

On Friday, the United States Department of Agriculture quietly released new statistics related to the food stamps program, officially known as SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The numbers reveal, in 2012, the food stamps program was the biggest it's ever been, with an average of 46,609,072 people on the program every month of last year. 47,791,996 people were on the program in the month of December 2012.

The federal government also says that in a given month in 2012, the number of households on food stamps was 22,329,713.

The state with the highest average number of participants per month in 2012 was Texas, with an astonishing 4,038,440 folks drawing from the program. The second highest is California, with 3,964,221, and then Florida, at 3,353,064.

Washington, D.C., with an estimated population of 617,996, had an average of 141,147 participants. Meaning, roughly 23 percent of folks living in D.C. are on food stamps, according to the numbers provided by the federal government. The participation rate in Texas, which has an estimated population of 26,059,203, 15.5 percent. Read more >>

Most people waiting up to 10 years to buy a new car

People aren't going to buy cars every two or three years anymore, an automotive website says based on an unscientific poll it conducted online. Now, 78% of the more than 4,000 people polled by AutoMD.com says they will keep their cars at least 10 years.

"What is most compelling is that longer ownership has become an embedded habit for car owners, regardless of what the economy does," said Brian Hafer, a vice president at AutoMD.com. "This significant lengthening of the ownership cycle looks like it is here to stay."

Well, cars are better than yesterday. They don't rust out anymore, and with proper care and more global warming we have no doubt they can survive at least a decade. Read more >>

Record Number Of US Households On Foodstamps

ZeroHedge
Last month, when the USDA released the latest foodstamps numbers for the month of February, there was some hope that following a third month of declines, we may just have seen the peak of US foodstamp usage and going forward we would only see the number decline.

Sadly, the latest numbers refutes this: in March a total of 46,405,204 persons were at or below poverty level and thus eligible for foodstamps, a 79K increase in the month. Yet while many individuals have learned to game the system, and this numbers at the peak may fluctuate, when it comes to the far more comprehensive and difficult to fudge "households on foodstamps" number, there was no confusion: at 22,257,647, the number of US households receiving the "SNAP treatment" rose to an all time high, even as the benefit per household dropped to the second lowest ever.

At least all these impoverished believers in hope and change have FaceBook IPO profits to look forward to. Oh wait.

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...

Layoffs sweep Wall Street, along with low morale

Cover of Chris FarleyIn early summer, before layoffs began sweeping across Wall Street, billboard-sized photos of employees were plastered on the walls, pillars and elevator banks of Credit Suisse Group AG's offices in the United States and abroad.

The museum-quality prints, depicting workers from administrative assistants to senior executives, were emblazoned with motivational words like "Proactive" and "Partner." By mid-July, however, the photos disappeared and the Swiss banking giant began laying off 2,000 employees.

Security guards prevented employees from taking cell-phone pictures as the posters were stripped away, according to one employee who was present.

"It sent an entirely wrong message," said an employee, who was not authorized to speak publicly. "Management literally threw away that kind of money on something so trivial, while planning to cut thousands of jobs." More...

Purchase a Shortwave Radio in case of Internet Kill Switch!

In this video I talk about the importance of having a shortwave receiver. I also do a short review of the Kaito KA1102 portable shortwave radio.

Food-stamp recipients up to record 39 million

Source

Almost 39 million Americans received food stamps in December, the most ever, as the jobless rate hovered near a 26- year high, the government said.

Recipients of the subsidies for food purchases climbed 23 percent from a year earlier and rose 2.1 percent from November, the U. S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a statement on its Web site. The number receiving the benefit has set records for 13 straight months.

Food aid climbed as the national unemployment rate reached 10.1 percent in October, the highest since June 1983, and remained at 10 percent through December before easing to 9.7 percent in January.

An average of 40.5 million people will get food stamps each month in the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week. The figure is projected to rise to 43.3 million in 2011.

Nevada had the biggest increase in the percentage of the population receiving the coupons, up 49 percent from December, USDA figures show. Texas had the most recipients, at 3.31 million, topping California’s 3.11 million.

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.

Long-term jobless make up 38.3% of the unemployed population

msnbc
The number of long-term jobless — those out of work six months or longer — is growing...The data, buried in Friday's unemployment report, are stark: The number of Americans out of work for 27 weeks or more reached 5.9 million last month, the most on records dating from 1948. That's 18 percent more than just three months ago, when the total was just below 5 million...the long-term jobless now make up 38.3 percent of the unemployed population, not that far from the 41.1 percent accounted for by those out of work for 14 weeks or less.

Number One Field Skill

Image via Wikipedia

Survival Guru

On a physical level, firemaking--and the ability to make it under any conditions--is the hallmark skill of a competent wilderness traveler. You should be skilled at creating fire in the rain, deep snow, at night, with one hand, and so on. Your life, or the lives of your party (or clients), may one day depend on how well you have mastered this critical area of survival.

Now, I am not talking about the art of rubbing two-sticks together or fire-by-friction. This is an advanced bushcraft skill and not something you want to rely on if you are truly lost and hypothermic. I am referring to modern firemaking using a spark-rod, lighter, and matches along with a quality tinder like cottonballs smeared with Vaseline.

Practice making fire regularly with the above items on your family camping trips, backyard barbecues, and wilderness outings as such skills are perishable. Remember you will perform in the wilds under actual duress the way that you have trained, so ingrain the skills in your head and hands before you need them in a true survival situation.

On a mental level, the number one skill is mindfulness, or situational awareness. Be aware of your surroundings on a constant basis, and don't forget to look over your shoulder at the landmarks as you hike along. These landmarks, such as boulders, hilltops, canyons, power lines, etc… will be your reference points upon returning along that same trail later. Most people stare at the heels of the hiker in front of them and forget to look around. Pay attention to the natural world unfolding around you!

The Obama Effect - Americans Hoard Ammo

Image by mr.smashy via

Americans aren't just hoarding Ammo because they fear a Democratic crackdown on the 2nd Amendment. Americans clearly see that a total economic collapse in the U.S. is dead ahead.


Lewis Page
Ammo rationing at Wal-Mart as panic buying sweeps US

The USA is suffering the most severe ammunition famine in living memory. Gun fanciers, fearing a Democrat crackdown on every American's right to pack heat, are clearing shelves at ammo shops and hoarding cartridges.

AP reports that the Remington Arms Company's factory in North Carolina is now working around the clock trying to supply insatiable demand for rifle, pistol and shotgun cartridges.

"We've had to add a fourth shift and go 24-7," Remington spokesman Al Russo told the news wire. "It's a phenomenon that I have not seen before in my 30 years in the business."

The shortages are so bad that retail globocorp Wal-Mart has been forced to introduce rationing at the ammo counter in many of its stores. Depending on calibre, customers may be limited to purchases of just 50 rounds at a time. Apparently, classic .45 ACP pistol ammunition is especially scarce - a fairly good indication that it is in fact conservative Middle America rather than, say, inner-city criminals buying up all the ammo*.

According to the National Rifle Association, America's pro-guns lobby, the people of the USA normally buy about 7 billion cartridges a year (an average of 23 rounds per head). The past year has seen that figure jump to 9 billion. The FBI reports a 25 per cent climb in background checks made prior to gun sales.

The ammo rush has been dubbed the "Obama effect" by gun-industry people, but in fact there is no sign at present of any particularly aggressive move towards stricter federal gun laws.

GM Sales Nosedive - volumes nearly halved

Source: Market Watch

In the first month after the end of the "cash-for-clunkers" program, automakers on Thursday are reporting virtually across-the-board sales declines with Chrysler and General Motors seeing volumes nearly halved. General Motors sold some 156,673 vehicles in September, a slump of 45% with retail sales off 46% and fleet sales dropping 43%. Car sales were down 43% and total truck sales -- light and heavy -- plummeted 47%.

On a percentage basis, Cadillac saw the smallest dip, down 9% to 11,339 vehicles, with the largest decline in the soon-to-be-wound-down Saturn division, which posted a 84% drop in sales to 2,993 units. GM's best-selling Chevrolet division posted a 41% decline for the month to 102,538 vehicles.

"September was a tough transitional month for the industry, and a difficult year-over-year comparison for GM," said Mark LaNeve, vice president of U.S. sales, in the report. "Fortunately, the fourth quarter looks brighter and our year-over-year comparisons should look more favorable."

The Continual Failure of Paper Money

Image via Wikipedia

History of Chinese Currency
The currency issued by the Yuan was the world's first fiat currency, known as Chao. Every paper currency that the Chinese ever implemented failed.

During the early Song dynasty (Chinese: 960-1279) China again reunited the currency system displacing coinages from ten or so independent states. Among pre-Song coins, the northern states tended to prefer copper coins. The southern states tended to use lead or iron coins with Sichuan using its own heavy iron coins which continued to circulate for a short period into the Song dynasty. By 1000 unification was complete and China experienced a rapid period of economic growth. This was reflected in the growth of coining. In 1073, the peak year for minting coins in the Northern Song, the government produced an estimated six million strings containing a thousand copper coins each. The Northern Song is thought to have minted over two hundred million strings of coins which were often exported to Inner Asia, Japan, and South-East Asia where they often formed the dominant form of coinage. Song merchants rapidly adopted forms of paper currency starting with promissary notes in Sichuan called "flying money" (feiqian). These proved so useful the state took over production of this form of paper money with the first state-backed printing in 1024. By the twelfth century various forms of paper money had become the dominant forms of currency in China and were known by a variety of names such as jiaozi, qianyin, kuaizi, or guanzi.

The Mongol-founded Yuan dynasty (Chinese: 1271-1368) also attempted to use paper currency. Unlike the Song dynasty they created a unified, national system that was not backed by silver or gold. The currency issued by the Yuan was the world's first fiat currency, known as Chao. The Yuan government attempted to prohibit all transactions in or possession of silver or gold, which had to be turned over to the government. Inflation in 1260 caused the government to replace the existing paper currency with a new paper currency in 1287, but inflation caused by undisciplined printing remained a problem for the Yuan court until the end of the Dynasty.
Silver sycee (yuanbao) ingots

The early Ming dynasty (Chinese: pinyin: Míng, 1368-1644) also attempted to use paper currency in the early re-unification period. This currency also experienced rapid inflation and issues were suspended in 1450 although notes remained in circulation until 1573. It was only in the very last years of the Ming dynasty when Li Zicheng threatened Beijing in 1643 and 1644 that printing took place again. For most of the Ming China had a purely private system of currency for all important transactions. Silver, which flowed in from overseas, began to be used as a currency in the Far South province of Guangdong where it spread to the lower Yangzi region by 1423 when it became legal tender for payment of taxes. Provincial taxes had to be remitted to the capital in silver after 1465, salt producers had to pay in silver from 1475 and corvée exemptions had to be paid in silver from 1485. The Chinese demand for silver was partially met by Spanish imports from the Americas, in particular Potosi in Peru and Mexico, after the Spanish became established at Manila in 1571. However the silver was not minted. It circulated as ingots (known as sycee or yuanbao) which weighed a nominal liang (about 36 grammes) although purity and weight varied from region to region. The liang was often referred to by Europeans by the Malay term tael.

Late Imperial China maintained both a silver and a copper currency system. The copper system was based on the copper cash (wen). The silver system had several units which by the Qing Dynasty were: 1 tael = 10 mace = 100 candareens = 1000 li (silver cash).

In 1889, the Chinese yuan was introduced at par with the Mexican Peso and was subdivided into 10 jiao (not given an English name, cf. dime), 100 fen (cents), and 1000 wen (cash). The yuan was equivalent to 7 mace and 2 candareens (or 0.72 tael) and, for a time, coins were marked as such in English.

The earliest issues were silver coins produced at the Kwangtung mint in denominations of 5 fen, 1, 2 and 5 jiao and 1 yuan. Other regional mints were opened in the 1890s producing similar coins. Copper coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 wen were also issued. The central government began issuing its own coins in the yuan currency system in 1903. Banknotes were issued in yuan denominations from the 1890s by several local and private banks, along with the "Imperial Bank of China" and the "Hu Pu Bank" (later the "Ta-Ch'ing Government Bank"), established by the Imperial government.

A Record 35 Million on Food Stamps

Image via Wikipedia

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.

Detroit jobless rate a record 28.9%

JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The unemployment rate in the city of Detroit rose to 28.9% during July, the highest rate since modern record-keeping began in 1970. The rate rose from a revised rate of 28.3% in June. Unlike statewide rates, the rates reported for the city are not seasonably adjusted. Rates tend to rise in July because auto manufacturers lay workers off during the annual model-changeover period. And, of course, Michigan has been suffering the nation’s highest jobless rate for most of the past two-and-a-half-years. The state’s rate was 15% in July. The national rate was 9.4% in July.

How to Survive an Ambush and Roadblock

A collapse in the form of Martial Law or Bank Holiday is imminent.

Survival Blog
In the days following a societal collapse, there will be some people who will be on the move from where the problems exist to where they hope safety lies. There can be many reasons why people are on the move, and an equal number of reasons why someone else may wish to stop your progress. Getting on the move and out of a hostile area as early as possible in the wake of a collapse is a significant key to one’s survival, as well has having buddies to cover you during your travel.

The sooner you get on the road, the less your chances of encountering problems. A few people will recognize the early signs of collapse and get moving out of town long before traffic becomes a problem. Others will recognize the issue within twenty-four hours after the event takes place, and will be on the leading edge of the traffic during the exodus. The majority will not realize the seriousness until it is too late. These people will get caught-up in the traffic jam that will rival the exodus of Houston during Hurricane Rita, where I-45 and I-10 were packed full of cars stopped on the highway for 100 miles. Many people ran out of gas on the side of the road and found themselves without food or water since they had only moved a few miles in four hours.

You may be a well prepared family, but for one reason or another are caught on your heals when a collapse occurs. This leads you to stay put longer than you would have liked, but you have no better tactical choices but to lay low at home or work for a few days before bugging out. You do not want to get caught in a highway traffic jam following a collapse. If you get stuck, you will have to leave most of what you packed into your vehicle(s) and move out on foot amongst the thousands of ill-prepared people on the roads doing things they would never have considered during normal times.

Those who are forced to wait out the initial exodus and are moving out of urban areas several days or weeks after the collapse will have a higher probability of coming in contact with an expedient ambush roadblock, both in the city and on rural roads outside of small towns. An expedient ambush roadblock is one set-up in haste with readily available materials and personnel. There will be plenty of desperate people who were caught unprepared for such an event; their lack of morals and innate nature to survive will drive them to take from others, with deadly force if necessary. It is your job to protect your family and yourself from these threats, especially when on the move.

While traveling in a vehicle on the roads, you may encounter various types of roadblocks or ambush points. Some may be fairly elaborate, while others may be quite simple. All are equally deadly. The primary tactic you will need to thread your way safely through one of these expedient ambush roadblocks is what I call R.O.C.S.: Recognition, Observation, Covering Fire, and Speed.

Recognition:

Recognizing that something you see ahead is a potential ambush site is the first key to success. An ambush site can appear as a traffic accident (as illustrated in Patriots), a fallen tree near or on the road, abandoned/broken down vehicles, anything blocking all or part of the road, detours, refugees, high ground on one or both sides of the road, bridges, and anything that looks like it does not belong on, or near, a road. These are the types of expedient ambush sites that someone may quickly create in the days following a societal collapse. It is up to whomever is leading, to recognize that a potential exists and to move into the observation phase.

Observation:

Once you recognize a likely ambush point (LAP), you have two choices: divert your course and completely avoid the circumstance, or observe and evaluate the site. You can either stop well short of the potential ambush point and observe through a scope or binoculars, or have a passenger continue to observe while on the move. Observation is a form of Intel. Look for signs of movement, or things that seem out of place. Reverse what you see and put yourself in the place of the ambusher. Where would you hide? How would you set it up? How many people would you need to pull off an ambush? What weapons would you use? What tactics would you employ? What is your end game?

At this point, you need to determine if what you see is worth the risk of approach or if you need to turn around and find a different route (if possible). Anyone traveling with you should also evaluate the situation and help with risk assessment. Once a decision is made to approach and pass the observed site, cover[ing fire] is needed.

Covering Fire:

This is a two or more person/vehicle job. This means that if it is just you, your wife and the kids, that you need to move out of town in two vehicles. Hopefully you have friends traveling with you to a new location who also have a vehicle and weapons. For [overwatching] cover[ing fire] during the operation, the lead vehicle stops at a distance from the LAP that is within the range of the weapon being employed. For most weapon platforms a good distance is 100-300 yards. This ensures accurate shots and plenty of ballistic energy. The lead vehicle should place their vehicle at a 45-degree angle to the direction of travel and the weapon system should then be employed across the hood so that the engine block provides a [limited] ballistic shield for those person(s) providing cover[ing fire].

The trailing vehicles should move past the lead vehicle with Speed. Once beyond the LAP, those vehicles stop and provide cover for the other vehicle(s) yet to pass through the site. Again, the vehicles that have already passed the LAP should stop within range of the weapon(s) being employed and turn their vehicles 45-degrees to the road and take personal cover behind the engine, covering the passage of the trailing vehicles. More...