Trouble Putting Food on Table for 17.6 Million American Households?

I harp on about this over and over again: economic growth is when the average consumer is optimistic about their future; they are spending money, they know they will have a job tomorrow, and they are saving. In the U.S., we are seeing the opposite of all this.

In fact, consumer confidence in the U.S. continues to plummet; the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, an indicator of consumer spending, plunged more than 11% in October from September. (Source: Conference Board, October 29, 2013.)

But the misery doesn’t just end there for consumers in the U.S. economy. They are struggling to even buy the most basic of needs—food.

According to a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2012, 17.6 million households in the U.S. economy were “food insecure”—they had difficulty bringing food to the table due to a shortage of resources. (Source: United States Department of Agriculture, September 2013.)

And as a result of so many Americans having trouble putting food on the table, it is costing taxpayers significantly. According to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, over the last five years, the U.S. government has spent $3.7 trillion on 80 different poverty and welfare programs. The amount of money spent on these programs was five-times greater than combined spending on NASA, education, and all federal transportation projects over the time period. (Source: U.S. Senate Budget Committee, October 23, 2013.)

When I look at all these statistics showing how Americans are suffering, talk of economic growth or economic recovery just doesn’t sit well with me. I tend to focus on facts, rather than the noise. The noise says there is “economic growth” in the U.S. economy; while the numbers say the complete opposite.

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