One million more Americans sign up for food stamps in only a year

A homeless man named Bob waits for donations from passing motorists.(AFP Photo / Spencer Platt)

Source: Russia Today

The number of Americans going to the government for assistance has once again hit a new high. More than 46 million Americans are now enrolled in the federal welfare food stamps system, more than double the amount from only a decade earlier.

The latest statistics made available by the United States Department of Agriculture reveal that more Americans than ever before are enrolled in the social welfare program, with numbers from the month of July 2012 indicating that the current roster of recipients amounts to 46,681,833 persons.

The newest figures indicate that enrollment continues to surge, with around one million more people receiving benefits now than just a year earlier. Last year, RT reported that the number of persons enrolled in the food stamps system consisted of roughly 45 million, or 15 percent of the country’s population.

By comparison, only 31.98 million people were receiving assistance in January 2009 when US President Barack Obama took office, indicating an increase of roughly 15 million in less than four years. Halfway through George W Bush’s first term, that statistic was only 19.1 million.

Republican lawmakers have pounced on the latest news and say that the Agriculture Department is openly advertising the program to non-citizens, making federally funded assistance appealing to those who do little to contribute to the country’s resources.

"USDA has engaged in an aggressive outreach and promotional campaign to boost food stamp enrollment. Among these efforts are an ongoing partnership with the Mexican government to advertise food stamps to Mexican nationals, migrant workers, and non-citizen immigrants. Partly as a result of these efforts, the number of non-citizens on food stamps has quadrupled since 2001," representatives from the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee fire back.

"Total spending on food stamps is projected to reach nearly $800 billion over the next 10 years, with no fewer than 1 in 9 people on the program at any given time. Neither food stamp participation nor spending on the program are ever projected to return to pre-recession levels at any point in the next 10 years,” the lawmakers add according to a report published in The Weekly Standard.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also blamed the left for the skyrocketing numbers, attacking Pres. Obama during this week’s televised debate over his food stamps record.

Tackling a question about the American economy during Tuesday night’s arguments, Gov. Romney remarked, “How about food stamps? When [Obama] took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps.”
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2012 Oct 19

US welfare spending up 32% in last 4 years

People wait in line to enter the Northern Brooklyn Food Stamp and DeKalb Job Center, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012 in New York. The state of the nation's economy is a dominant issue in this presidential election year. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Source: Press TV

New figures show a dramatic hike in welfare spending in the United States over the last four years.

Based on a study conducted by Congressional Research Service and the Senate Budget Committee, welfare spending reached $746 billion in 2011, growing over 30 percent during the Obama presidency.

The report was requested by Senator Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. Townhall.com

HIGHLIGHTS

Federal spending on more than 80 low-income assistance programs reached $746 billion in 2011, and state spending on those programs brought the total to $1.03 trillion, according to figures from the study. Washington Post

That makes welfare the single biggest chunk of federal spending - topping Social Security and basic defense spending. Washington Post

Welfare spending as measured by obligations stood at $563 billion in fiscal year 2008, but reached $746 billion in fiscal year 2011, a jump of 32 percent. Washington Post

What’s also shocking to find is that Medicaid, which is only one of several programs under the welfare umbrella, accounts for $296 billion of that federal spending. That’s 40% of total spending on low-income assistance; back in 2008 that number was only $82 billion. Townhall.com

Facts and Figures

The cost of living in the U.S. rose in September for a second month, reflecting a jump in energy expenses that failed to trickle through to other goods and services. Business Week

The consumer-price index increased 0.6 percent for a second month, the Labor Department reported in Washington. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 0.5 percent advance. The so-called core measure, which excludes more volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.1 percent, less than projected. Business Week

Meanwhile, more Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, reflecting an unwinding of adjustments for seasonal swings at the start of a quarter. Bloomberg

Jobless claims increased by 46,000 to 388,000 in the week ended Oct. 13 from a revised 342,000 the prior period that was the lowest since February 2008, Labor Department figures showed. Bloomberg

The overall pace of the recovery of the U.S. economy will remain too slow in 2013 to make a dent in the unemployment rate, according to a National Association for Business Economics survey released Monday. Market Watch

Professional forecasters expect economic output to grow just 1.9% during the last part of 2012, rising steadily to 3% in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the survey by the association for professional economists. That is a slight downgrade from the pace of growth expected in the group's May 2012 survey, when economists forecast 3.1% growth by the end of next year. Market Watch