[Videos] NBC's Rock Center Examines the Surge in Food Shopping at 12:01 AM the First Day of the Month, While 60 Minutes Examines the Homeless in Florida

Outside of the pepper spraying festivities at the mall, a lot of not so great things are happening to the once middle class. Over the past 2 days both NBC's Rock Center and 60 Minutes had some nice segments on different segments of the population.

Over at NBC, we take a look at the surge in shopping at 12:01 AM the first day of the month, when food stamp cards are reloaded with money.  It has reached the point, even Walmart is changing its behavior to react to the demand - something we highlighted a few years ago.  [Nov 10, 2009: Walmart Executive - "There are Families Not Eating at the End of the Month"]  When I started this site - food stamps was an issue I was highlighting.  At the time 1 in 11 Americans used the service... now it is 1 in 7, including 1 of every 4 American children. [Nov 29, 2009: 1 in 4 Children, and 1 in 8 Americans Now on Food Stamps]

10 minute video - email readers will need to come to site to view

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Meanwhile the fascinating gap between well off and not so well off turns into a chasm, as a new class of homeless emerges: families who live in cars.   Quite a different scene than the one playing out at the local mall.

14 minute video - email readers will need to come to site to view



[Jul 24, 2010: Increasing Evidence that Generation Y Will Not Have the Living Standard of their Parents]
[July 26, 2010: [Video] DatelineNBC - America's Increasing Ranks of Poor]