Michael Snyder

Activist Post

47.6 million Americans are about to have their food stamp benefits cut, and most of them have absolutely no idea that it is about to happen. Needless to say, a lot of them are going to be very angry when they discover that they cannot buy as much food for their families anymore. The reason that this is happening is because a temporary boost to food stamp benefits that was put in during the last recession is expiring. But most of the people that are having their benefits cut will not understand this. Most of them will just be very upset that the government is “taking money away” from them.

And considering the “mini-riots” that we witnessed earlier this month when the system that processes food stamp payments went down for a few hours, it is obvious that a lot of food stamp recipients can very easily be pushed over the edge. So what would happen if we have another “debt ceiling crisis” in Washington D.C. early next year and food stamp benefits are temporarily cut off completely?

Wherever “austerity” has been tried in Europe, it has resulted in protests and riots. Could a similar thing happen in this country?

NBC News is reporting that ALL food stamp recipients are going to have their food stamp benefits reduced in November. This is certainly not going to put those living in poverty in a good mood…

Millions of American families could face a sparse holiday table when food stamps benefits get reduced in November, and that could be just the start of deeper cuts to the program to feed poor families.

The modern-day food stamp plan, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is scheduled to scale back benefits for all recipients on Nov. 1 because a recession-era boost in benefits is expiring.

Sadly, the truth is that food stamp benefits don’t even buy a lot of food right now. According to the USDA, the average monthly food stamp benefit is approximately $272 per household.

And now it will be even lower.

The government says that a family of four will be getting 36 dollars less per month starting on November 1st.

That may not sound like a lot to you, but for those living on the edge of poverty it can make a huge difference.

What are impoverished families supposed to do? Eat a diet that consists entirely of Ramen noodles?

Of course the real solution would be to provide good paying jobs for those families, but unfortunately our leaders continue to pursue policies that are systematically killing American jobs so that is not going to happen.

Meanwhile, those living in poverty continue to become angrier and more frustrated.

We got a glimpse of this earlier this month. The following is a brief excerpt from a recent article posted on offgridsurvival.com…

Over the weekend, the debit system that allows people on government assistance to buy food, temporarily went down. The resulting chaos is a small glimpse at what I believe will happen, should the government plunge this country into some sort of economic collapse.

A couple of Walmarts in Louisiana decided to allow people to shop, even though the system was down and they had no real way of knowing how much credit people had on their cards. The resulting chaos had the store’s shelves in Springhill and Mansfield, LA stripped bare, as food stamp recipients attempted to defraud the grocery stores.

When the system went back online, the grocery store found people who had as little as .49 on their Food Stamp cards attempting to steal over $700 in food. Local police were called in as the crowd started to turn ugly, and overflowing grocery carts were left abandoned in the aisles.

You can watch a video news report about what happened at these Wal-Mart stores right here…

But this is just the beginning. To get an idea of what is eventually coming to America, just check out what is happening in Italy right now…

Demonstrators clashed with Italian police on Saturday as tens of thousands marched through Rome to protest against unemployment, government cuts and big construction projects they say take money away from social services.

Hooded protesters turned over garbage bins in front of the Economy Ministry and set several of them on fire. Using sticks and clubs, they attacked police in riot gear. The police charged and chased demonstrators up side streets.

The hooded demonstrators, who infiltrated a mostly peaceful protest, threw smoke bombs, eggs and bottles at the ministry and broke the window of a nearby bank.

As poverty continues to grow and government handouts continue to get cut back, the desperation of those living in poverty in this country is going to continue to increase.

At this moment, there are 6 million Americans in the 16 to 24-year-old age group that are neither in school or working. In fact, a whole bunch of major U.S. cities currently have more than 100,000 “idle youth” living in them…

Just look at some of the nation’s largest cities. Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Riverside, Calif., all have more than 100,000 idle youth, the Opportunity Nation report found.

It is only a matter of time until we see massive riots and huge crime waves in many of those cities.

The conditions for a “perfect storm” are already here.

All we need is a spark.

According to a brand new Pew Research survey, only 19 percent of all Americans trust the government. Back in 1958, 73 percent of all Americans trusted the government.

Right now, only 23 percent of all Americans have a favorable view of Congress. Back in 1985, 67 percent of all Americans did.

Anger and frustration are growing and our society is breaking down all around us.

Get ready while you still can.

This article first appeared here at the American Dream. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.