Mayors Release Hunger, Homelessness Survey

SAN FRANCISCO -- Americans needed more emergency food and shelter last year than the year before, according to a 24-city survey released Monday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Requests for food assistance grew by 12 percent overall during the past year, with 76 percent of the cities surveyed reporting an increase. Appeals for shelter assistance increased by 6 percent, with 71 percent of cities showing an increase, according to the annual Hunger and Homelessness Survey.

"The statistics continue to get worse and worse in spite of our Herculean efforts," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who, with Mayor Paul Pate of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, co-chairs the conference's Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness.

Among the survey's findings:............More...........

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-homeless-survey,0,1860841.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

I work for a commuity service program with a soup kitchen, food cupboard, health center and children's programs. The trickle of people who used to come through the doors have become a constant stream these days. It used to be just adults, now we see more and more parents with kids. There just aren't enough jobs for people at the low end of the wage scale, and everyone has to hustle to find the next meal, keep the house warm.

Some American dream they've been handed.

That's good news, for them anyway. In a society built on competition and exploitation of resources for profit, all these people care about is making more money. They don't give a damn about the folks who are left behind. "Let them eat shit," they say to their close friends.

They say there is a certain point where the wealth/income gap between the richest person and the poorest person becomes so wide that it begins to threaten the stability of the nation at issue. If they want to stretch the rubber band that far, then be my guest, but if the rubber band snaps, you people here already know where I'm going to be pointing the finger when the time comes to assign blame.

the begining of third world poverty as we will know it - in our back yards.

that seems to be Chimp's only solution. The moran.

silent depression. real unemployment rate closer to 10% or above.
but shoot, the wealthy are doing just fine, so all is well.

we are heading there...