It’s bad out there. Really bad.

As world leaders finally begin to admit that we are smack dab in the middle of another Great Depression and the economy stands at the cusp of another earth-shaking collapse of the financial system, the US census reports that nearly 100 million Americans are now classified as living in poverty or are considered “near poor.”

That’s nearly 1/3 of our populace who are living in the worst economic conditions in nearly fifty years.

We haven’t seen these highs since the mid ’60s. That survey indicates the poverty level has grown from 15.1% to as high as 15.7% [since 2010], and it’s spreading at record levels to many socio-economic groups from unemployed workers, suburban families, to the poorest poor.

…More discouraged workers are giving up on the job market and unemployment aid is running out. They found that the suburbs are seeing an increase in poverty…

Those experts surveyed also predict poverty will remain above the pre-recession level of 12.5% for many more years.

Via Yahoo:

It’s not encouraging any way you look at it. And if you look at near poverty, which is another measure – the next income bracket up… you’re looking at just a huge number of Americans; I think on the order of almost 100 million people are either poor or close to poor. And poor, just in case you haven’t kept up on the definition is $11,000 a year for an individual or $22,000 for a family of four.

Poverty is up 25% since President Obama took the helm, and as predicted by the survey, will continue unabated as economic conditions worsen.

There can be no economic recovery – ever – if we continue down the path we’re on:

They are responsible for the overspending and making of promises that cannot be kept and thus the stifling of the economy as a whole as resources are shifted to an infantile and futile attempt to maintain the illusion of prosperity.

Prepare for a storm, my friends, for it is coming our way.

Source: Market Ticker

For 100 million of our fellow countrymen today, the storm is already pounding them with hurricane-like winds.

The contagion is most certainly spreading.

Twenty two percent of Americans are unemployed, underemployed or simply no longer counted, and half of American households are dependent on some type of government benefit to make ends meet. In fact, more people are applying for government disability benefits each month than there are jobs created.

The storm is coming, and when it strikes the government will be powerless to stop it, despite the belief by the majority of Americans that existing social safety nets and emergency response plans will bail them out.