“We Are on the Verge of a Great, Great Depression”

06-02-2011 • NakedCapitalism.com/

Given that the broader U-6 measure of unemployment is currently around 17% (ShadowStats.com puts the figure at 22%, and some put it even higher), the current numbers are that much worse. But it is important to look at some details. For example, official Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers put U-6 above 20% in several states: California: 21.9 Nevada: 21.5 Michigan 21.6 Oregon 20.1 In the past year, unemployment has grown the fastest in the mountain West. Food Stamps Replace Soup Kitchens 1 out of every 7 Americans now rely on food stamps. While we don’t see soup kitchens, it may only be because so many Americans are receiving food stamps. Indeed, despite the dramatic photographs we’ve all seen of the 1930s, the 43 million Americans relying on food stamps to get by may actually be much greater than the number who relied on soup kitchens during the Great Depression. In addition, according to Chaz Valenza (a small business owner in New Jersey who earned his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business) millions of Americans are heading to foodbanks for the first time in their lives.