20% in Los Angeles County receive public aid

[Jeep789]

Source: Los Angeles Times

The figure matches the total at the height of the 2001-03 recession, and officials expect it to rise significantly.

By Garrett Therolf
February 22, 2009

One in five Los Angeles County residents -- nearly 2.2 million people -- are receiving public assistance payments or benefits, a level county officials say will rise significantly over the coming months as the fallout from the recession continues.

The percentage of people on county aid already equals the figure at the height of the 2001-03 recession and far exceeds the one in seven who needed help during the economic downturn in the early 1990s and the one in nine assisted in the collapse of the early 1980s.

The rise in welfare recipients in the county is the first sustained uptick since welfare reform under the Clinton administration imposed strict time limits on benefits in 1996.

County officials warn that tens of thousands of additional frustrated job seekers -- unemployment in the county currently stands at 9.5% -- are expected to seek aid to weather the persistent recession once their other benefits run out.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-welfare22-2009feb22,0,4228903,full.story

[ohio2007]

1. soon to be 40% with the way things look imo

Sadly,California is the trend setter of the nation

[Frank Booth]

4. Yep. This is going to jump a lot.

The school district, for example, is about to lay off thousands, possibly tens of thousands.

[McCamy Taylor]

2. Watch Rush transform this from "Bush wrecked the economy" to

"LA is bringing down the country"

They should report on how many Red state people are on welfare.

[Jeep789]

3. What is really scary is looking at how little the aid is

$200 a month in CA? What the heck can you do with that? Now comes the time that those who complained about public aid may have to depend on it and guess who will yell the loudest when they find out how scant it is.

[Joe Bacon]

6. $200 a month in Los Angeles gets you NOWHERE!

The average rent is now in the $1,750/month range.

Milk runs around $5/gallon for nonfat organic

Other groceries have had a major price spike since last years oil price jump.

Food pantries are exhausted.

Yet the Corporate Controlled Conservative Press (CCCP) tells us that the stimulus bill goes too far.

The Pigboy, leader of the Republic Party blames Obama for everything wrong.

Folks, the worst is yet to come.

[JDPriestly]

5. I live in L.A. When I go to my local grocery store, almost

everyone in line (except me) is using food stamps. I'm not surprised by these numbers. And believe me, the people paying with food stamps do not appear to be cheating. They are poor and they live in crowded apartments, sometimes in garages.