Archive for the 'Food Stamps' Category

(CharlieVLog) – Read the rest of this entry »

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(CharlieVLog) – July 13, 2010 – Read the rest of this entry »

(NorthCountyTimes) – EXCLUSIVE: Major lender signals surge in local foreclosures – Read More Here

(ZeroHedge) – Guest Post: It’s Impossible To “Get By” In The US

While the market cheers on the fantastic job “growth�? of March 2010, the more astute of us are concerned with a growing tide of personal bankruptcies. March 2010 saw 158,000 bankruptcy filings. David Rosenberg of Gluskin-Sheff notes that this is an astounding 6,900 filings per day. Read More Here

(DailyCapitalist) – Morgan Stanley Loses $5.4B In RE Fund: Biggest Loss In History!

Here’s a story for the decade. Morgan Stanley’s Msref VI, an $8.8 billion real estate fund, lost $5.4 billion, the biggest loss in the history of private real estate equity investing. This story is just out from the Wall Street Journal and it is worth a read. Read More Here

Fed Shouldn’t Reveal Crisis Loans, Banks Vow to Tell High Court

The big banks are saying “We are above the law.” Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Property tycoon Gerald Ronson warns of social unrest in a two-tier Britain

Britain faces “social unrest�? over rising unemployment outside London according to Gerald Ronson, the property tycoon. Read More Here

(NYTimes) – JPMorgan Upbeat as It Posts Profit

For big banks, the good news just keeps coming. Read More Here

(Bloomberg) – Fed Shouldn’t Reveal Crisis Loans, Banks Vow to Tell High Court

The biggest U.S. commercial banks will take their fight against disclosure of Federal Reserve lending in 2008 to the Supreme Court if necessary, the top lawyer for an industry-owned group said. Read More Here

(EconomicCollapseBlog) – $4.00 A Gallon Gasoline By The End Of 2010? How In The World Are Average Americans Going To Make Ends Meet If This Keeps Up?

Gas prices are on the rise again. In many areas of the U.S. gas prices are already hovering around $3.00 a gallon. In fact there are some areas where people are paying as much as $3.50 a gallon, and many experts are predicting that gasoline could hit $4.00 a gallon by the end of 2010. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – Argentina seizes pension funds to pay debts. Who’s next?

Here is a warning to us all. The Argentine state is taking control of the country’s privately-managed pension funds in a drastic move to raise cash. Read More Here

(Reuters) – U.S. bank chief mobbed by angry borrowers

The mortgage chief of the United States’ second largest bank was mobbed by angry borrowers on Tuesday after he invited customers to speak to him if they feared foreclosure of their homes. Read More Here

(MyBudget360) – The Invisible Recovery – 40,000,000 Americans Receiving Food Stamp Assistance – Since 2000 23 Million Americans have been added to the Food Assistance Program. Read More Here

(TheEconomicCollapse) – 12 Reasons Why Millions Of Americans Are Incredibly Angry About The State Of The U.S. Economy

We have reached a very interesting turning point in American history. More than at any other point in modern times, Americans are deeply angry about the state of the economy. In fact, it is no stretch to say that millions of U.S. citizens are hopping mad about the economic situation. Read More Here

Video: How The Fed Is Destroying The Dollar

Midas Resources educational video regarding the Federal Reserve and how they have devalued the United States Dollar. Read the rest of this entry »

(NaturalNews) – Almost half of all children living in the United States will receive food stamp assistance at some point before they turn 18, according to a study conducted by researchers from Cornell and Washington Universities and published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Read the rest of this entry »

(AlterNet) – The problem today for most isn’t this recession, it’s that except for the top 10 percent, average household income hasn’t changed a bit for 10 to 20 years. Read the rest of this entry »

(NYTimes) – Program to pay homeowners to sell at a loss

In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. Read More Here

(BuffaloNews) – Food-stamp recipients up to record 39 million

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. Read More Here

(Freep) – Owners walk from homes, values erode

With more than 500,000 households in Michigan owing more on their mortgages than the homes are worth, thousands of Michigan residents are choosing to abandon their homes and walk away, even if they can afford to continue making payments. Read More Here

(Blog) _ Are Traders Demanding US Credit Default Swaps Payable in Gold?

If another author had said this I might not pay it so much attention. Lately some have been given over to a tabloid approach to overstatement and sensational headlines to attract attention. This is a strong temptation as the blogosphere expands, similar to the development and evolution of newspapers as a popular medium in Victorian London for example. Read More Here

(WorldTribune) – Organized crime: The ‘looting’ of $11 trillion from the U.S. economy

The following is based on a report by Cliff Kincaid for Accuracy in Media. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Public pension funds are ‘going to Vegas’

States and companies have started investing very differently when it comes to the billions of dollars they are safeguarding for workers’ retirement. Read More Here

(ABC) – A Complicated Enemy: Obama Seeks to Vilify Health Insurers, Give Them $336 Billion Check

ABC’s Z. Byron Wolf reports: President Obama and Democrats launched a campaign to vilify insurance companies in the final stretch of their health reform effort. Read More Here

(Telegraph) – The end of the road for Barack Obama?

Barack Obama seems unable to face up to America’s problems, writes Simon Heffer in New York. Read More Here

Greek police stormed a government printing

In Athens, Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs officers stormed the state printing office. It is reported by TV channel “Russia 24″.

Greek police want to prevent the publication of government paper with the text of the law of the new stringent economy measures of the federal budget. According to the law of the country, passed a law can come into force only after publication in the official newspaper of the Government of Greece. Read More Here

(OpEdNews) – First Iceland, then the World

Who cleans up the mess when ignorant, greedy bankers rack up massive debt then go broke? The people of Iceland made a strong statement Saturday. The sins of big bankers and government regulators shouldn’t fall on the citizens. By a 93% to 2% margin, they voted down a proposal requiring them to cover bad debt incurred by one of the nation’s oldest and largest banks. Covering the debt would have cost Iceland’s 317,000 citizens around $17,000 each. Read More Here

(DailyTelegraph) – Fuel bills will pay for eco-upgrades

Ed Miliband, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said seven million homes will have insulation or renewable energy devices like solar panels fitted by 2020. Read More Here

(TulsaWorld) – No bottom yet – Big revenue source down 12th straight month

Tulsa’s sales-tax revenue this month dropped 11.6 percent or about $2 million from March 2009, capping off 12 straight months of negative numbers. Read More Here

(Reuters) – China at the wheel of the Soros and Goldman Gold Hedging Vessel – Read More Here

(CNN) – Chevron to cut 2,000 jobs – Read More Here

(Tennessean) – Ford finance arm to cut 200 jobs in Franklin – Read More Here

(MercuryNews) – Cash-strapped LA County courts to begin layoffs – Read More Here

(KCTV5) – Shawnee Mission Schools Cutting $10 Million, 128 Jobs – Read More Here

(CNN) – 43% have less than $10k for retirement

The percentage of American workers with virtually no retirement savings grew for the third straight year, according to a survey released Tuesday. Read More Here

(TaxProf) – CBPP: 33 States Have Raised Taxes by $32 Billion/Year – Read More Here

(BaltimoreSun) – Counties face more cutting as state income tax payments fall – Read More Here

(BusinessInsider) – Flashback – Video: Simon Johnson Decries Influence Of Wall Street Oligarchs, US A Banana Republic – Read More Here

The year is 2010 and to anyone not in denial, the industrialized nations have entered the greatest calamity the world has ever known:

• 35 Million Americans on Food Stamps: 12 Percent of U.S. Population on Food Stamps Highest Since Records Kept in 1969, and that’s before the Obama administration announced a planned three-year budget freeze on government discretionary spending. (My Budget 360)
• 18 Million empty houses in the United States and 39 million Americans who are no longer working or looking for work, and that’s before Federal Reserve finishes rewriting the rules of American “capitalism�? as US Housing, the Automobile Industry and the American Dream are dismantled. (The 31-Year-Old in Charge of Dismantling G.M., David E. Sanger)

Read the rest of this entry »

(CanadaFreePress) – Greece’s Financial Crisis and the Myth of Modern America

I have been hearing a lot of chatter recently in coffee shops and lunch restaurants about the financial crisis in Greece. As I eavesdrop, the impression I get is that people are trying to convince themselves the problem is “over there.�? They discuss how Greece could have avoided the situation and debate what they should do now. So naturally it is an isolated, country-specific problem “over there,�? right? Read More Here

(Gata) – Adrian Douglas: CFTC admits hiding info exposing market manipulation

Recently while reviewing the bank participation reports (BPR) released each month by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading commission I noticed that, since November 2009, in silver and in some other commodities the CFTC has stopped listing the number of banks that hold positions. Read More Here

(DailyCaller) – Record numbers receive food stamps as USDA turns blind eye to recipients’ finances

Food stamp distribution has skyrocketed since the U.S. Department of Agriculture renamed the program Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2008 and began pushing states to give federal food aid to people without verifying their finances. Read More Here

(Lansner) – O.C. has 13 months of unlisted foreclosures

Irvine-based John Burns Real Estate Consulting Inc. made national news this past week with a study showing that a new wave of foreclosures will hit the U.S. housing market in the next few years. Read More Here

(ComingDepression) – Canadian housing haven myth collapsing

Canada is quickly becoming much worse off than the US was (in terms of house prices to income levels) before their bubble burst. House prices in the US are much lower on average than Canada and they have higher incomes with lower taxes, so how is this sustainable in Canada then? Read More Here

(CNBC) – Dr Doom: China Will Drag Down US Stocks By 20%

In a rare interview, one of the Street’s most influential strategists sounded the alarm about the next leg down. Read More Here

(Reuters) – Bad economies in states to worsen: governors

The already gloomy conditions of states’ economies are set to worsen, according to preliminary survey findings from the National Governors Association released on Saturday Read More Here

(AP) – Banks in Calif., Ill., Fla., Texas are shut down

Regulators shut four banks from California to Florida on Friday, boosting to 20 the number of U.S. bank failures this year following the 140 closures last year in the worst financial climate in decades. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Millions of unemployed face years without jobs

Even as the American economy shows tentative signs of a rebound, the human toll of the recession continues to mount, with millions of Americans remaining out of work, out of savings and nearing the end of their unemployment benefits. Read More Here

(NYTimes) – The Fat Lady Has Sung

A small news item from Tracy, Calif., caught my eye last week. Local station CBS 13 reported: “Tracy residents will now have to pay every time they call 911 for a medical emergency. But there are a couple of options. Residents can pay a $48 voluntary fee for the year, which allows them to call 911 as many times as necessary. Or there’s the option of not signing up for the annual fee. Instead they will be charged $300 if they make a call for help.�? Read More Here

(RevolutionaryPolitics) – 1001 Reasons to Own Gold

Tracking the numerous ongoing bullish factors for gold is quite a chore. There are, quite literally, so many compelling arguments for holding our favorite metal that I used to catalog them each month in our letter. Read More Here

(YesMagazine) – Campaigning for State-Owned Banks

The public bank concept is gaining ground on the state level, attracting proponents across the political spectrum. Read More Here

(WSJ) – Credit-Card Fees: the New Traps

A new federal credit-card law that takes effect Monday could erase billions of dollars a year in fees and interest charges paid by consumers. But card issuers are already deploying new tactics that could prove costly for even the most cautious cardholder. Read More Here

Video: ALERT – U.S. Depression Breadline Hits New RECORD! – View Video Here

Video: A Cruel Waste of Your Tax Dollars – View Video Here

(Telegraph) – So where did all the money go?

It is all too easy to lose track of the amount of cash poured into the economy by the British authorities in order to support banks and prevent a repeat of the Great Depression. Read More Here

(Guardian) – RBS braced for bonus row with planned £1.3bn payout

Loss-making Royal Bank of Scotland is braced for a row over City pay next week when it is expected to admit that its bonus pot for 22,000 investment bankers has reached £1.3bn – against last year’s £1bn. Read More Here

(WSJ) – German Economic Expectations Deteriorate

German economic expectations deteriorated in February, indicating the economic recovery isn’t gaining any significant momentum. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – China cuts holdings in U.S. treasuries

The government said Tuesday that foreign demand for U.S. Treasury securities fell by the largest amount on record in December with China reducing its holdings by $34.2 billion. Read More Here

(NewsWithViews) – Congress Refuses to Bring Home Millions of Jobs

I was in Denver recently. As I refuse to fly commercial, I drive. From Big Spring, Texas, where I live, to Denver and back, the number one subject of discussion is jobs. People are very afraid; you can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voice as they say, “I thought we were in a recovery.” Read More Here

(ABC) – Food Stamps Create Jobs… in India

Several States With High Unemployment Are Outsourcing Food Stamp Services Read More Here

(FinancialTimes) – Lone voice warns of debt threat to Fed

The US must fix its growing debt problems or risk a new financial crisis, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, warned on Tuesday, adding a mounting deficit could spur inflation. Read More Here

(MSNBC) – Rising tide of suburban homeless across U.S.

Homelessness in rural and suburban America is straining shelters this winter as the economy founders and joblessness hovers near double digits — a “perfect storm of foreclosures, unemployment and a shortage of affordable housing,�? in one official’s eyes. Read More Here

(MailOnline) – One in ten ‘underemployed’ as record 2.8m workers are trapped in part-time jobs

A record 2.8million workers are trapped in unsatisfying or lowly paid part-time jobs. Read More Here

(GoldSeek) – All Roads Lead to Goldman Sachs – Read More Here

Crash Babies

Wow, I think I woke up on a different planet this morning. There has been economic crashes, rumors of crashes, but damn man some huge players are saying “IT IS GOING TO CRASH.” One heavy weight to check in is Barton Biggs, former head of Morgan Stanley who says here and I quote “Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with “seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc. because tshtf is coming.” Read More Here

(AP) – Report: Hawaii hotels lost $741M last year

A new report says hotels in Hawaii lost $741 million last year, $1.1 billion since the tourism slump began in 2008 Read More Here

(RawStory) – China’s holding of US Treasuries tumbles

China’s holding of US Treasury bonds has tumbled, according to US Treasury data released Tuesday, after Beijing expressed concern over the swelling US deficit and amid new US-China tensions. Read More Here

(AP) – Foreigners cut Treasury stakes; rates could rise

A record drop in foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury bills in December sent a reminder that the government might have to pay higher interest rates on its debt to continue to attract investors. Read More Here

It is a challenge to say that things are getting better when every month that goes by more Americans are losing their jobs or needing to apply for food assistance.  In the latest data for food assistance through SNAP we find that 200,000 more Americans were added to the program.  That now brings the total number of Americans on food assistance to 38,183,000.  1 out of 10 Americans are receiving food assistance.  For 2009 this cost the government $50 billion, up from $34 billion in 2008 and $30 billion in 2007.  It should be no surprise then that average Americans are questioning the viability of a middle class in the upcoming decade.

But even when we look at the balance sheet of the government, things are still not improving: Read More Here

(ArizonaRepublic) – Desperate to save police, fire and other city jobs, a divided Phoenix City Council on Tuesday approved a sales tax on grocery items that will generate tens of millions of dollars a year. Read the rest of this entry »

(OnTheEdge) – Max follows up with Johannes Skulason about events in Iceland. Read the rest of this entry »

Max Keiser talks to Stacy Herbert about how JP Morgan Chase makes more money when more people are forced to use food stamps swipe cards
recorded on January 9th, 2010 Read the rest of this entry »

Most Americans may find it hard to accept that millions in this nation are suffering from hunger — an affliction most often associated with war-torn Africa or flood-ravaged Bengal. It flies in the face of everything we’ve been told about our nation’s prosperity. First the Clinton and then the Bush administration have led us to believe that poverty is under control, pointing to the mass exodus from the welfare rolls since the 1996 reforms were launched. The $27 billion cut in food stamps? Justified, lawmakers told us, because the poor are working and feeding themselves. Hunger, it is commonly understood, has long since vanished, along with the 7 million people who no longer receive public assistance. Read the rest of this entry »

(Bloomberg) – A record 37.2 million people, or about one out of every eight Americans, received food stamps in September, as the recession drove a surging jobless rate, according to a government report. Read the rest of this entry »

The stigma of food stamps is fading amid record use of the U.S. nutrition program, which now feeds more than 36 million people, officials said. Read the rest of this entry »

Unemployment in the United States is now officially at 10.2%. Add in those individuals that no longer receive unemployment benefits, are no longer looking for a job, or for some other reason are not included in the above number and you are at 20% unemployment. Not a pretty figure. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – 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. Read the rest of this entry »

A new study finds that nearly half of all American children will need to use the federal food stamp program to eat at some point in their childhood, with the number much higher for African American children, at a startling 90 percent. And the current recession with persistently high unemployment rates, will cause the numbers of children on food stamps to rise even higher, say researchers. Read the rest of this entry »

During the Bolshevik Revolution that led to communist Russia, Comrade Vladimir Lenin said, “Sell the capitalists enough rope and they will hang themselves!”
Nearly 100 years later, Lenin’s predictions reveal his veracity with chilling fruition. The United States bleeds $11 trillion in debt. It suffers a $700 billion annual trade deficit, mostly with China, which by the way thrives as a communist nation selling us lots of ‘rope’, i.e., consumer goods. We import another $700 billion in oil annually from other countries. We borrow $2 billion daily to float our sinking economy. The average American’s credit card debt equals $9,425.00 according to NBC’s Brian Williams. We suffer 15 million unemployed American workers and 35 million subsisting on food stamps. Read the rest of this entry »

(BobChapman) – The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since January, a sign the labor market is deteriorating more slowly as the economy emerges from the recession. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – 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. Read the rest of this entry »

One in nine Americans relied on food stamps in May, the highest proportion ever, according to recently released data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – For the first time, more than 34 million Americans received food stamps in May, the government said on Thursday, another symptom of the longest and one of the deepest recessions since the Great Depression. Read the rest of this entry »

(AP) – With the economy performing worse than hoped, revised White House figures point to deepening budget deficits, with the government borrowing almost 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year. Read the rest of this entry »

(Reuters) – A record 32.2 million people – one in every 10 Americans – received food stamps at the latest count, the government said on Thursday, a reflection of the recession now in its 16th month. Read the rest of this entry »

Government shows increase of 700,000 food stamp recipients in a single month. Read the rest of this entry »