USA 2008: The Great Depression
Food stamps are the symbol of poverty in the US. In the era of the credit crunch, a record 28 million Americans are now relying on them to survive - a sure sign the world's richest country faces economic crisis
We knew things were bad on Wall Street, but on Main Street it may be worse. Startling official statistics show that as a new economic recession stalks the United States, a record number of Americans will shortly be depending on food stamps just to feed themselves and their families.
Dismal projections by the Congressional Budget Office in Washington suggest that in the fiscal year starting in October, 28 million people in the US will be using government food stamps to buy essential groceries, the highest level since the food assistance programme was introduced in the 1960s.
The increase - from 26.5 million in 2007 - is due partly to recent efforts to increase public awareness of the programme and also a switch from paper coupons to electronic debit cards. But above all it is the pressures being exerted on ordinary Americans by an economy that is suddenly beset by troubles. Housing foreclosures, accelerating jobs losses and fast-rising prices all add to the squeeze.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/usa-2008-the-great-depression-803095.html
This is absolutely retarded, but I guess understandable because this is from the point of view of foreigners looking at what one would normally view as a safety net social program for the poorest of the poor who have no other recourse but to accept meager scraps from the government.
The truth about food stamps/EBT of course, is that although most recipients don't need them, they take them because, why not? Free food, and no restrictions on what you use it for. You could buy caviar with EBT if you wanted.
Plenty of people, especially foreigners who are no doubt amazed the American government actually feeds you for free sign up for food stamps. And the government as the article notes is PUBLICIZING and URGING people to take advantage of this program. So there's why the number of recipients is swelling. To conflate that into a 'great depression' is risible.