Food Stamp Use at All-Time High

Food-stamp usage soared to an all-time high in June with a total of 46.7 million Americans receiving the government aid, Bloomberg reports.

That’s a 0.4 percent increase from May.

"Participation was 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier and has remained higher than 46 million all year as the unemployment rate has stagnated just above 8 percent," the report adds.

But wait! There’s more!

Not only has food-stamp spending become the USDA's single greatest annual expense, but it has more than doubled in four years to "a record $75.7 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2011," according to Bloomberg.

"Reductions in the program have emerged as a point of contention in debate over a farm bill to replace current law that expires Sept. 30. The U.S. Senate in June passed a plan that would lower expenditures by $4 billion over 10 years, while the House Agriculture Committee the following month backed a $16 billion cut," the report adds.

Total food-stamp spending in June: $6.21 billion. That's a 0.4 percent increase from May and 2.8 percent more than it was at this time last year.

And in case you need help visualizing everything you just read, here’s a chart from the Matt Trivisonno blog illustrating monthly increases in participation since 2006:

Here’s a chart illustrating the annual increase in food-stamp participation:

The Senate Budget Committee Republican staff under Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) also released this chart illustrating the recent explosion in food-stamp spending:

Have you noticed a pattern yet? Do you see where the exponential increases in spending and participation occur?

If your first reaction was to notice that both spending and participation have experienced massive increases under the leadership of President Barack Obama, then shame on you. That’s racist.

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Front page photo source courtesy the AP.