They’ll tout the latest unemployment numbers as evidence for the strength of America’s recovery, but despite their best efforts to fudge the numbers, the unreported reality is that we are so far gone it’s scary.

The decent into economic oblivion continues at a seeming unstoppable pace. Rather than bloviating about the supposed jobs created in the last month being a clear sign of economic recovery, perhaps a more informed look at how bad things are in modern-day America is to consider the amount of people requiring the aid of federal and state governments to put food on the table and help make ends meet:

The just reported foodstamp number for September was a doozy, with 607,544 new Americans becoming eligible for foodstamps, as a record 47.7 million Americans are now living in poverty at least according to the USDA.

The monthly increase was the highest since May 2011, and with August’s 421K new impoverished America, over 1 million Americans made the EBT card their new best friend.

It is unclear just which atmospheric phenomenon will get the blame for this unprecedented surge in poverty, which comes at a time when the pre-election economic data euphoria was adamant that the US economy was on an escape velocity to utopia.

Instead what we do know is that in August and September, over three times as many foodstamp recipients were added to the economy as jobs (324,000).

We also know that with the imminent impact of Sandy, which will send foodstamp recipients soaring, it is now looking quite possible that the US may end 2012 with just over a mindboggling 50 million Americans living in absolute poverty and collecting the $134.29 average monthly benefit per person, instead of working. Welcome to the recovery indeed.

Source: Zero Hedge via Steve Quayle

Since the collapse of 2008 Americans have lost 40% of their wealth, millions of homes, their savings have nearly vanished, and recipients of government assistance for services such as food stamps and disability have nearly doubled.

One thing is clear: The trend, although every effort has been made to convince us otherwise, is a progressively worsening economic and social impact on Main Street – and it is showing no signs of returning to pre-crash normalcy.

How long this “recovery” can continue before the weight of the 100 million poverty stricken and poor Americans brings the whole thing crashing down is anybody’s guess. But considering that fully one-third of Americans are struggling daily just to feed themselves and their kids, and the government is borrowing unprecedented levels of cash just to maintain “stability,” we probably don’t have a whole heck of a lot of time.

The quality of life in America is collapsing unabated. A paradigm shift is happening before our eyes. The blowback is going to be so severe that there is a strong possibility our civilization won’t be able to survive it intact.