Experts say part of the rise in food stamps results from states expanding eligibility but that much of the past few years' increase is due to extended unemployment.

"In this economy we still have millions of individuals out of work," says Stacy Dean ofthe liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Poverty in America today, she says, is largely a story of unemployed workers or those who must combine their wages with public assistance in order to survive. "It's either that the wages or the hours are insufficient in order to be a living income."

Like many others -- including analysts at the Congressional Budget Office -- Dean expects food stamp enrollment to taper off as a more robust recovery takes hold, but that may not happen for years. CBO doesn't expect SNAP enrollment to fall below pre-recession levels until 2019.

"It is very much a barometer of the economy for low-income Americans," Dean says, "but what it's telling us is that it's still a very tumultuous time for them."

One key indicator: 48% of households headed by females with children under 5 now live in poverty, up from 45 % in 2008.

Do you think that the pseudo ban at starbucks also includes Police?

That would be my preference..  

In an interview with USA TODAY, also Tuesday, Schultz says: "The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers."

And it is rather obvious that for the gun toting crowd this is an invitation. Do you seriously think that activists who comprise the large percentage of gun owners are going to leave their gun at home when they go for a latte, because Starbucks suggested it?

I don't. This an empty gesture by Starbucks that can only be seen as marketing, imo. They are not going to give up gun toting customers, they are not going to do anything to limit their customer base.

As gun laws in many US states have become more relaxed, and more states have adopted open carry or concealed carry statutes, some gun owners have begun carrying guns while performing every day shopping or other tasks. Many stores and companies have responded by banning the carrying of guns on their premises, as allowed by many states local laws. Starbucks has not instituted a policy banning guns in their stores.

In 2010, the Brady Campaign proposed a boycott of Starbucks due to their gun policy.[213][214] At that time, Starbucks released a statement saying "We comply with local laws and statutes in all the communities we serve. That means we abide by the laws that permit open carry in 43 U.S. states. Where these laws don't exist, openly carrying weapons in our stores is prohibited. The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores."[215][216]

In 2012, the National Gun Victims Action Council published an open letter to Starbucks, asking them to revise their policy, and also proposed a "Brew not Bullets" boycott of the chain until the policy is changed, with Valentine's Day selected as a particular day to boycott the chain.[217][218][219]

In response, gun rights advocates started a counter "Starbucks Appreciation Day" buycott to support Starbucks stance, and suggested paying for products using two-dollar bills as a sign of Second Amendment support.[220][221][222]

On July 29, 2013, the organization, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, initiated a petition demanding a ban on guns in Starbucks stores.[223]

On September 17, 2013, founder and CEO Howard Schultz asked customers to no longer bring guns into its stores. He made the comments in an open letter on the company's website. Schultz said he was not banning guns, but making a request.[224]

Starbucks, which unlike many restaurant chains and retailers until now tolerated guns inside its coffee shops, had been embraced by gun-rights activists as a champion of their cause. The new policy took shape over a period of months, Schultz said, and wasn't related to this week's Washington Navy Yard shooting rampage, which prompted Democrats in Congress to renew their campaign for tougher gun-control laws.

"Pro-gun activists have used our stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called `Starbucks Appreciation Days' that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of `open carry,'" Schultz wrote in an open letter released today. "To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores."

It's great to sit here and pontificate about what's "right," but, what's not so great is that sometimes doing "what's right" also leads to bankruptcy.