Food stamp benefits soar
The government spent $74.6 billion on food stamp benefits last year, up from $30.4 billion in 2007. With 15 percent of Americans now receiving food stamps, the program’s budget is equivalent to the combined budgets of the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and the Department of the Interior.
The Wall Street JournalLargest occupations have lowest salaries
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Common jobs, low salaries
Workers in seven of the 10 largest U.S. occupations typically earn less than $30,000 a year, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These most-common jobs include retail clerks, food prep workers, and cashiers.
CNN.com
Growing revenues for baseball teams
The average major league baseball team had $227 million in revenue last year, and is now worth $744 million. Team values and revenues are about to grow even larger, due to new television contracts that will pay Major League Baseball $12.4 billion over the next eight years.
Forbes
Time off from the White House
President Obama took 131 vacation days in his first term. In his two terms, President George W. Bush took 1,060 vacation days
Salon.com
Polls back Hillary Clinton
Though she has not indicated whether she intends to run for president in 2016, Hillary Clinton has a six-person “transition office” in Washington, D.C. Polls suggest that if she does run, the Democratic nomination is hers to lose: In Iowa, Clinton currently is running 39 points ahead of every other potential Democratic contender, including Joe Biden and Andrew Cuomo. In New Hampshire, the margin is 53 points.
Slate.com
