The Economy – Food Stamps, Unemployment Insurance, and Jobless Benefits

Food Stamps, Unemployment Insurance, Jobless Benefits and Some Food Storage Reminders

The Economy – Food Stamps: From Reuters (reuters.com) on 9/04/09, we noticed this post: “Food stamp list soars past 35 million: USDA”. Two things in the article stood out to us:

“More than 35 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 22 percent from June 2008 and a new record as the country continued to grapple with the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.”

“June was the seventh straight month in which food stamp rolls set a record.”

Unemployment Insurance: Mish Shedlock over at Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis   (globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com) gave us this 9/4/09 post headline: “Critically Underfunded Unemployment Insurance Plans”. Here’s the nut for his discussion/analysis:

“[Eighteen via latest updates] states have simply run out of money to pay benefits and been forced to borrow from Washington a total of more than $8 billion. That number is almost certain to grow as more states reach the brink. If they are not able to pay that amount back before 2011, which most will not be able to do, they face paying hundreds of millions of dollars in interest.”

PH Note: Mish’s site is an excellent source of economic discussion and analysis and is highly recommended as a daily read.

Jobless Benefits: Just some general comments on one of our local newspapers’ recent article concerning an infrequently discussed aspect of unemployment benefits: running out.

With nearly 15 million American’s unemployed, it looks as though almost 1.5 million of those will be running out of jobless benefits by the end of this year. This includes a number of recipients who’ve been receiving benefits for 18 full months.

‘Guess’ our economic recovery better hurry up, huh?

Some Food Storage Reminders: PH got this little bit of food storage information via a PrudentHome  friend and  contributor, Stephen McGehee: “Food Storage Shelf Life” from Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com). Stephen has done a good bit of business with them over time and recommends them highly (Note: You can take Stephen’s “recommends” to the bank!). Here are some of Emergency Essentials’ key points:

• “Minerals and carbohydrates do not change much during storage. But proteins can denature and deteriorate in quality. Fats can acquire off odors and off flavors known as rancidity. Vitamins are susceptible to destruction by heat, light and oxidation. Importantly, even if some components deteriorate, the fat, carbohydrates and proteins will still contribute calories. TO PREVENT STARVATION, THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENT IS CALORIES.” (caps/PH)
• “‘Food Storage’ that is intended to be held long-term is generally considered to be low moisture food packed in either #10 cans or metalized bags placed within large buckets.
• “’Shelf life’ can be defined in the following two ways: ‘Best if used by‘ shelf life – Length of time food retains most of its original taste and nutrition and “ ‘Life sustaining‘ shelf life – Length of time food preserves life, without becoming inedible.”
• “ Understanding food constituents. Food is composed of the following:
  • Calories: A unit of measurement of energy derived from fats, carbohydrates and protein.
  • Fats: A wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water.
  • Carbohydrates: Simple sugars as well as …” starches and celluloses (PH).
• “…shelf life is extremely dependent on the following storage conditions:
  • “Temperature: ’Excessive temperature is damaging to food storage. … store at room temperature or below …”
  • “Moisture: Excessive moisture can result in product deterioration and spoilage … .”
  • “Oxygen: The oxygen in air can have deteriorative effects on fats, food colors, vitamins, flavors, and other food constituents. It can cause conditions that will enhance the growth of microorganisms.”
  • “Light: The exposure of foods to light can result in the deterioration of specific food constituents, such as fats, proteins, and vitamins, resulting in discoloration, off-flavors, and vitamin loss.”
• The foregoing have been some of Emergency Essentials (beprepared.com) key points in it’s brief discussion of food storage considerations. There’s been enough reminders here (along with Stephens recommend) to gain our intention to get one of their catalogs ASAP.

Until next time; keep your eyes on the horizon as the weathers changing fast.