There are a few statistics that you can look at to see actual human pain in the real economy.
Number of world Hungry has Risen Above 1 Billion and how U.S. agriculture producers could save them
One of the worst years for the hungry, 2009 is experiencing a significant worsening of an already downward trend in global food security since 1996. In 2009 an additional 100 million people had no access to adequate food, with more than one billion people estimated to be undernourished, FAO said. (source)
In 2009 the U.S. You can look at the recent stock market rally yet even a 50+ percent rally is unable to create jobs or stem the economic pain of those at the lower end of the economic spectrum. Looking at food stamp participation from the United States Department of Agriculture shows us a very disturbing picture. When we did a report on this in August of 2009 we had 34 million Americans on food stamps. In the span of one month, the number jumped by over a million.
The raw data shows us that a stunning 12 percent of our entire population is receiving some form of food stamp assistance. The program is now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program but the theme is still the same. (Source)
This is the highest percentage of Americans receiving food stamps since records started being kept. The average person receiving assistance now receives $133 per month but even a number this low with such a high number of participants is costing the government $56 billion on an annualized basis.
We desperately need to increase local and community farming - GIVE THEM JOBS, Turn these Americans back into farmers....
.... it is important to reflect on the benefits agriculture has given the citizens of the United States and to the rest of the world.
The average family in the U.S. spends 10 percent of their disposable income on food. This represents food eaten in local restaurants, as well as that taken home in your grocery bag. Compare that number to Europe, where they will spend 25 percent of their income for food. Those living in India spend 50 percent of their take-home pay to sustain themselves. Russians will spend 90 percent of their disposable income on food and clothing and still go to bed hungry.
The small amount of money that we as Americans spend on food allows us to have money left over for home mortgages, automobiles, entertainment, travel and recreational activities.
Not only does U.S. farm production provide for this nation, but for many other nations as well in the form of exports. Our extra production fed much of the world during World War II. We came to the rescue of Russia in the early '70s when they had a grain disaster. Many times the U.S. food supplies have headed off starvation in other countries.
Fewer than 2 percent of Americans producing food and fiber has given the rest of our citizens other lifestyles. The social benefit to society is that 98 percent of our neighbors can go on to pursue nonfarming careers without worrying about how to feed their families. I doubt that Bill Gates would have had time to come up with the idea of Microsoft if he had been spending his days around Seattle digging in the dirt trying to grow enough food to feed his family. The success of U.S. agriculture allows it and the rest of society to make the accomplishments that have blessed and prospered the great United States of America.
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