The Economy, Food Stamps & Kids, Conversations With ’Pop’ Smith

The Economy – Food Stamps & Kids: “Half of US kids will get food stamps, study says” by Lindsey  Tanner is an 11/2/09 article that been out there for a week or so and one we’ve been reading and re-reading in light the food stamp article we posted a few days ago and now we’ve decided to present and comment on it as a unique piece.  Here’s some of the ‘why’:

• “Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher.”
• “An editorial in the medical journal (the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine/PH) agreed.
• “The current recession is likely to generate for children in the United States the greatest level of material deprivation that we will see in our professional lifetimes,” Stanford pediatrician Dr. Paul Wise wrote.”
• “… other recent research suggesting that more than 40 percent of U.S. children will live in poverty or near-poverty by age 17; and that half will live at some point in a single-parent family. Also, other researchers have estimated that slightly more than half of adults will use food stamps at some point by age 65.”

PH Comment: What the above article and information suggests to us here at PrudentHome is that America is in rough shape economically and socially. A lot of the statistics used to develop just the numbers PrudentHome has presented have been based on several decades worth of research  with a clear implication that things are getting worse not better. This is something that the preparing family needs to keep in mind as it works toward greater independence. This situation looks like a long haul at best and a sustainable preparation program is going to be required.

Conversations With ‘Pop’ Smith:

PH Question – “ ‘Pop’, we’ve been talking about a good general, in- depth family preparation program as being a base for dealing with almost any specific crisis-event coming down the road but do you see any problems on the near horizon that we might want to keep our eyes pealed for?

‘Pop’ Smith: While nobody can predict the future, all of us would want to be keenly aware of the direction our economy is taking. We’re at real unemployment at close to 20% with about 70% of our economy depending on near-full employment. Credit is tight and the people and the country owe more than they can pay back. This in a context of nervous creditors, national and international, wondering if we’re going to outright default on our debt or our country is going to print a lot more money with no backing and default that way. Either way things don’t look good.

Wages look like they’re going to hold steady at best for a while so with everything costing more (not just in the stores but in all your local and state taxes and “fees”), look for a lower standard of living for the average American in the short haul at best.

Also, you’re going to want to keep a sharp watch on the middle east. If Israel and Iran go at it, then all the bets are pretty much off the table. The bad now will seem good then

Don’t forget terrorism and civil unrest. Both of those are nearly sure bets pretty soon.

Bottom line: You’ve probably heard about the “Long Emergency” and the “Long War”, well I’d bet that you’re going to begin hearing about the “Long Recovery” pretty soon now. That’s what I’m preparing for: sustained hard times.

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