Hope & Change: Poverty Level At Highest Level Since Record Keeping Began.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Congrats Mr. President!!

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html

WASHINGTON — The portion of Americans living in poverty last year rose to the highest level since 1993, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, fresh evidence that the sluggish economic recovery has done nothing for the country’s poorest citizens.

And in new evidence of economic distress among the middle class, real median household incomes declined by 2.3 percent in 2010 from the previous year, to $49,400.

An additional 2.6 million people slipped below the poverty line in 2010, census officials said, making 46.2 million people in poverty in the United States, the highest number in the 52 years the Census Bureau has been tracking it, said Trudi Renwick, chief of the Poverty Statistic Branch at the Census Bureau. That represented 15.1 percent of the country.

The poverty line in 2010 was at $22,113 for a family of four.

“The figures we are releasing today are important,” said Robert Groves, the director of the Census Bureau. “They tell us how changing economic conditions have impacted Americans and their families.”

According to the Census figures, the median annual income for a male full-time, year-round worker in 2010 — $47,715 — was virtually unchanged from its level in 1973, when the level was $49,065, in 2010 dollars.

“That’s not about the poor and unemployed, that’s full time, year round,” said Sheldon Danziger, professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. Particularly hard hit, Professor Danziger said, have been those who do not have college degrees. “The median, full-time male worker has made no progress on average.”

The youngest members of households — those ages 15 to 24 — lost out the most, with their median income dropping by 9 percent. The recession continued to push Americans to double up in households with friends and relatives, especially those aged 25 to 34, a group that experienced a 25 percent rise in the period between 2007, when the recession began and 2011. Of that group, 45.3 percent were living below the poverty line, when their parents incomes were not taken into account.

[slim 1,525]

So this is the change!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The poverty line in 2010 was at $22,113 for a family of four.

I wonder what the cash value would be of all the means tested assistance a family below that income would be entitled to. I know of many "families of four" that work very hard to stay below that threshold, just to keep the free medical care, the free dental, EBT card, and the housing allowance.

[sly_wolf 199]

A consequence of decisions made by government, bankers and corporations ..... a great team effort to make the top ranks wealthier than ever!

I hear it all the time at work .... "we have to remain competitive globally" ..... and a few more bodies fall. I really dont think anyone has a good solution and congress is only interested in playing politics .... bunch of aholes!

Edited September 13, 2011 by sly_wolf

[웃 910]

For me and Slim:

http://www.offthechartsblog.org/today's-census-report-in-pictures/

The Census Bureau issued data this morning on poverty, incomes, and health coverage in 2010. Below are some charts to show how the new figures look in historical context; later today we'll issue a statement with analysis.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Lord Infamous

[slim 1,525]

Thanks for the pictures. Although, I'm pretty sure this is still Bush's fault.

[sly_wolf 199]

Thanks for the pictures. Although, I'm pretty sure this is still Bush's fault.

The economy took a tailspin while he was in office. What makes him different from the rest?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There's nothing going on in the USA that isn't happening in the rest of the Western world.

[slim 1,525]

The USA IS the western world.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Of course it is.

If it ever were to "go down" they would raise the poverty level income more to keep it the same or increase it. The poverty industry cannot tolerate the possibility that poverty would ever be fixed.

Think about WHO would be out of work if there were no poverty. Hmm, could it be the SAME people that determine what poverty is?

When the number of people applying for food stamps goes down, THEY ADVERTISE ON RADIO for people to apply for food stamps because if they don't use then up the state will lose its allotment of food stamp money! HORROR!!!!!!!! OMG there was a panic here a couple years ago when Vermont had used ONLY 74% of the money alloted to it for food stamps! I thought that would be GOOD news. Wrong. They were advertising to hurry before the deadline for that year. Even saying "You may not realize you are eligible for food stamps"

Poverty is an industry and the war on poverty has its own military/industrial complex, its own huge number of corporate dependents. Imagine what the National Grocers Assn. would say if we cut food stamps, what about the liquor industry, tobacco industry? Wait, you say. "they cannot buy alcohol or tobacco with food stamps" True. They buy it with the money they do not have to spend because of food stamps...or maybe you think it is a coincidence that smoking and alcoholism is highest among the poor? They also can get CASH from their EBT card and THEN buy alcohol and tobacco, they can SELL their EBT card and PIN to get drug money.

Food stamps are just a way to enslave people and control how they vote and hand out corporate welfare to preferred industries while claiming not to be racist or greedy.