Free Slurpees, Disability Checks, and Improving Unemployment

Update on Food Stamp Recipients: It's a record high at 46.7 million people (US population in 2011 was 311.6 million) -- 15% of the population doesn't have enough money to afford food (and Slurpees).

Jobs versus Foodstamps and Disability. FYI, this is a pretty shocking chart:

This is one of main reasons the unemployment rate is ~8% instead of 10% (ignoring the most recent BS 7.8% that was published this past Friday). Labor force participation rate is back at the rate as we had during the early '80s, which is good only if households bought low and sold high for the dot com boom and housing boom, otherwise, it's pretty horrific given the debt load of the average household -- but at least we have 60" HD TVs! FYI, the participation rate is dropping because people are quitting looking for work, not that they are retiring or taking sabbaticals.

Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-05/us-foodstamp-usage-rises-new-record-high
Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-10-05/nfp-prints-114k-top-expectations-115k-unemployment-rate-tumbles-78-expectations-82
Source: https://www.google.com/search?q=us+population
Source: http://www.bls.gov/data/