[EmxATW5m]

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/...e-food-stamps/

Some 43 Million Use Food Stamps

By Sara Murray

Nearly a year and a half into the economic recovery, some 43.6 million Americans continued to rely on food stamps in November.

More than 14% of the population drew food stamps in November to purchase groceries as high unemployment and muted wage growth crimped budgets. The number of recipients was up 0.9% from October, according to the new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Compared to a year ago, the number of people receiving food stamps was up 14.2%.

In both Washington, D.C. and Mississippi more than a fifth of residents received food stamps — the highest recipiency rates of any state.

But demand has grown stronger in the past year in a handful of other states that recorded significant increases on a per capita basis.

In New Mexico, 19.4% of the population tapped into food stamps. That’s up 3.2 percentage points from the same month a year ago, the largest increase for any state. Idaho reported a similar jump: 14% of residents received food stamps, up 3.1 points from a year ago. Washington, D.C., Florida, Delaware and Texas all experienced similar year over year increases.

[wmhardware]

Because they can't find jobs, or can't find jobs that pay enough to support their families.

[broksaksaak]

The number of Americans who moved into poverty surged during the Bush administration while the amount of money controlled by the richest 1% of the country also surged. It's a by-product of the shrinking middle-class, triggered by a reset of the job market as more jobs move from traditional factory and manufacturing fields into information and technology fields, all exacerbated by tax cuts favoring the wealthy.