Sox First

At the end of January, I looked at how one in five Americans were now saying they were going hungry. It's inevitable with one in four American children on food stamps.

Now we have reports that a record 38.2 million Americans were enrolled in the food stamp program at latest count. That's up 246,000 on the previous month and happening right now in the richest country in the world.

All this should put the so-called recovery in perspective. Don't believe it. While the last reports have US GDP growing by 5.7%, it's a statistical illusion, the kind that keeps economists happy. In the real world, there is no recovery and it looks like things are getting worse. Until unemployment is well and truly down, there can be no recovery.

• One in five Americans report hunger
• Food stamp numbers soar
• Poverty and the end of the American empire
• One in four American children on food stamps
• One in seven Americans on food stamps