Poverty Rates Rise In The Nation

By Cornelius Nunev


A Census Bureau report Tues showed that more and more Americans are losing the struggle to stay afloat in a stormy economic climate that will not quell. According to the report, there are more Americans residing under the poverty line than ever in the 52-year history of the Census Bureau reports.

1993 was the last time this was seen

From 2009 to 2010, the countrywide poverty rate increased from 43.6 million individuals to 46.2 million individuals. Now the amount of poor Americans is at the same point it was 52 years back when records starting being kept. The 2010 poverty amount are "approaching levels not seen since Lyndon B. Johnson launched the War on Poverty in 1965," states the Los Angeles Times.

The poverty rate rose 0.8 percent from last year to 15.1 percent, the highest percentage since 1993, which also topped out at 15.1 percent.

Less income coming in

The median household income also fell. At the end of 2010 the average American made $49,445, which is down 2.3 percent from 2009. There are now 49.9 billion Americans without medical insurance too. That is also an increase. There was an increase from 20.7 percent to 22 percent in the number of children in poverty.

Things get worse before they get better generally

The discouraging numbers are likely to continue to the 2011 report, according to analysts. This year, the country had to deal with a financial rating downgrade. Joblessness is at over 9 percent still.

For one person, the poverty threshold was at $11,139 in 2010 while it was $22,314 for a family of four. All tax credits and food stamps don't count as revenue. This is not how the Census Bureau calculates things. If it had, many of those counted as below the poverty line would have increased above it. Many can be pushed over with unemployment benefits as well.

You can expect worse

The poverty level in the country is downplayed, some experts believe. This is due to several factors. Many young adults are unable to find jobs, and so remain part of their parents' family households. Many experts also argue that the poverty threshold, which was designed almost fifty years back, is irrelevant to the needs of people living in today's economic climate.

Bill might go through to help create jobs

President Obama is hoping to get some votes back. He has a $450 billion jobs creation bill he is pushing. Due to the report, the discussion will start to get hot. People are likely to want to know whether or not the government should really be involved in welfare or not.

Poverty rate is fairly high

When compared to the developed nation, the United States has had higher poverty rates than most for quite a while. Only Chile, Israel and Mexico have higher poverty rates.




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