Food Stamp Enrollment Surpasses 46 Million

As the chart above shows, Zero Hedge reported today that enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) surged by another 423,000 Americans and now tops 46 million for the first time:

While the capital markets may be cheering that in the past month 120,000 people supposedly found jobs, even if these were largely temporary or part-time just in time for the year end shopping sprees, we wonder how they will react when learning that according to the latest update from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), some 423,000 Americans found their way to minimum way subsistence, courtesy of Food Stamp handouts from Uncle Sam. Since the start of the Second Great Depression, food stamp participation has increased by 18.7 million, and is now at an all time higher 46.3 million.

As I've said before, forget the manipulated official unemployment rate, the SNAP numbers are the true indicator of the real state of the economy given that one does not "drop off the rolls" unless one's income actually rises to a level in which they are no longer eligible for the benefit.

Zero Hedge didn't do this little bit of math, but the 18.7 million SNAP recipients gained since the start of the recession means that enrollment has increased by around 400,000 people every month for the past 47 months. That is a staggering figure to contemplate and shows that the collapse of the American economy continues unabated, official pronouncements and mainstream media cheerleading notwithstanding.