USA 2008: The Great Depression

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:
From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: April 2, 2008 8:15:00 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] USA 2008: The Great Depression

[Note:  This item comes from friend Ken DiPietro.  DLH]

From: ken <ken () new-isp net>
Date: April 1, 2008 10:16:16 AM PDT
To: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Subject: USA 2008: The Great Depression

Selected excerpts

"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.


Michigan has been in its own mini-recession for years as its collapsing
industrial base, particularly in the car industry, has cast more and
more out of work. Now, one in eight residents of the state is on food
stamps, double the level in 2000. "We have seen a dramatic increase in
recent years, but we have also seen it climbing more in recent months,"
Maureen Sorbet, a spokeswoman for Michigan's programme, said. "It's been
increasing steadily. Without the programme, some families and kids would
be going without."

But the trend is not restricted to the rust-belt regions. Forty states
are reporting increases in applications for the stamps, actually
electronic cards that are filled automatically once a month by the
government and are swiped by shoppers at the till, in the 12 months from
December 2006. At least six states, including Florida, Arizona and
Maryland, have had a 10 per cent increase in the past year.

In Rhode Island, the segment of the population on food stamps has risen
by 18 per cent in two years. The food programme started 40 years ago
when hunger was still a daily fact of life for many Americans. The
recent switch from paper coupons to the plastic card system has helped
remove some of the stigma associated with the food stamp programme. The
card can be swiped as easily as a bank debit card. To qualify for the
cards, Americans do not have to be exactly on the breadline. The
programme is available to people whose earnings are just above the
official poverty line. For Hubert Liepnieks, the card is a lifeline he
could never afford to lose. Just out of prison, he sleeps in overnight
shelters in Manhattan and uses the card at a Morgan Williams supermarket
on East 23rd Street. Yesterday, he and his fiancée, Christine Schultz,
who is in a wheelchair, shared one banana and a cup of coffee bought
with the 82 cents left on it."

The entire article can be read here:
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/usa-2008-the-great-depression-803095.html 
>

Tiny URL for those who choose to use it: <http://tinyurl.com/38m9lx>

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