Food Stamp Stampede

David Usborne of The Independent reports that a record number of Americans are now on food stamps. Ignoring the fact that the headline incorrectly states that we are in a depression the content of the article should distress anyone concerned about the state of the American economy.

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.

I know from experience what having to rely on government assistance does to one's morale and self respect. While we were in the lower middle class growing up we still, at times, had to turn to USDA food to make it. I talked with my late father about it once and it really hurt his self image and was something he never forgave himself for. He worked hard and had a pretty good job and those times where we were hurting to make ends meet still weighed on him 25 years later. It saddens me to think that there are now 28 million people out there that are going to have some of the same experience. People that should be able to feed their families and can't. What is even more depressing is that these same people are also probably not able to afford health insurance either and face each day knowing that even a minor illness may destroy their family completely.