Nearly 36 Million Americans Living in Poverty

[Thess]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... ID=6080200

By Andrea Hopkins
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 1.3 million Americans slid into poverty in 2003 as the ranks of the poor swelled to 35.9 million, with children and blacks worse off than most, the U.S. government said on Thursday in a report sure to fuel Democratic criticism of President Bush.

Despite the economic recovery, the percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent -- the highest since 1998 -- from 12.1 percent in 2002, the Census Bureau said in its annual poverty report. The widely cited scorecard on the nation's economy showed one-third of those in poverty were children.

The number of U.S. residents without health care coverage also rose last year to the highest level since 1999 and incomes were essentially stagnant, the Census Bureau said.

The poverty line is set at an annual income of $9,573 or less for an individual, or $18,660 for a family of four with two children. Under that measure, a family would spend about a third of its income on food.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has argued Bush's economic stewardship, including three rounds of tax cuts since 2001, has done more to help wealthy Americans than the poor or middle class.

But analysts have said the poverty rate typically tracks the broad economy, rising during a recession and falling in boom times. America has struggled to recover from the 2001 slump, and job creation has lagged behind overall growth.

The poverty rate has risen each year since 2000, when it was 11.3 percent. It hit a record low 11.1 percent in 1973.

Children and most racial minorities again fared worse in 2003 than the overall population, according to the Census report. The rate of child poverty rose to 17.6 percent from 16.7 percent in 2002 -- boosting the number of poor children to 12.9 million.

The poverty rate of African Americans remained nearly twice the national rate, with 24.4 percent of blacks living below the poverty line in 2003, nearly unchanged from 24.1 percent a year earlier.

The report showed real median income for all races was unchanged at $43,318 in 2003, while the number of Americans with no health care coverage rose to 45.0 million from 43.6 million in 2002.

Democrats criticized the government's decision to release the highly anticipated report in mid-August -- when many people are on vacation -- rather than sticking to the usual September release. They also said the decision to release both the health insurance and poverty statistics in the same report was a bid to minimize media coverage of the worsening lives of the poor.

"Hmmmm. We wonder if these moves have anything to do with the fact that George Bush is running for re-election. Remember, the last time that the annual census figures were released in August was in 1992 to hide bad news in an election year," the Kerry campaign said in a statement.

But we are doing better!

[Siji]

But we are doing better!

Those people don't matter. They aren't Bush's base.

[Midnyte_Ragebringer]

We're recovering from a terrorist attack, a market crash, and a war. I think we are doing quite well despite those 3 things going against us.

[*~*stragi*~*]

lol

[Winnow]

Screw the poor people! They're too stupid to vote! There are nice healthy MRE's for them to consume if they join the military and head over to Iraq.

[Adex_Xeda]

What is poor?

How does one who is considered poor today compare to one who was considered poor in the 1950s for example?

What does $18,660 adjusted for 1950's inflation buy a 4 person family back then?

What was the cost of living in 1950, and how does it compare to the cost of living today?

[Pherr the Dorf]

it's right around 1:8 so $2333 a year or 44 bucks a week for a family of 4. Real average weekly earnings peaked in the 70's and have been declining since, combining this with the gap between the richest 5% and the bottom 90%...then think about what effect those 2 things combined will do

[Xzion]

We're recovering from a terrorist attack, a market crash, and a war. I think we are doing quite well despite those 3 things going against us.

Yeah a war, a war not essential to national security which has created more terrorist abroad and only contributes to our shitty economy

[Kylere]

Using this as an anti Bush argument is stupid and ineffective. It says that at 12.5% it is the highest since 1998 ( When Clinton was in office ) and has risen .4% since 2002. Not to mention it is only 1.4% higher than the record low of 11.1% in 1973 (when we were at war in Vietnam and a Republican was President, a guy named Tricky Dick)

While it makes a good headline it was no validty on politics other than a cheap smear attack with no real legitimacy. For it to be fair and equitable the headline would have to be "Americans below poverty level at the highest rate since the last guy was president"

[Thess]

Notice my, "But we are doing better' comment - as in better then when Clinton left office, since that is the closest president to judge on.

[Sirton]

The Poor do not have to pay income tax anymore under Bush?? Like he hates the poor its like saying he hates minorities..Hell some of his family are minorities.....And with all the factors that We've had like War and 9/11 and a recession when President Bush entered office...Im amazed how great our country is doing...Most countries would of collapsed or been in a great depression at this point. Remember many of his policy's were bipartisan efforts.

In Clintons last year with the recession he left Ill just put it in personal shoes...800k down in stocks the last year of Clinton alone...4 yrs of Bush with all the counterstikes against our economy um example 9/11 cost our economy alone over 1 trillion dollars atleast....Well slighty positive now about even...

I see a great rebound once we dont have to pour as much cash into Iraq ....but who knows Syria or Iran or N. Korea or the worse senario Pakistan gov't gets overthrown and we have to go into there.......maybe one of them will have to be next...Its worth the deficit and slightly hard times for another 1-4-8-10-20 years if it keeps the crap that We and the Germans and Russians released into this world out of religious fanatical hands or dictators.

[Toshira]

Thess, I object to your attempt to being a discussion about issues to this board. Shame! Shame!

[Sirton]

Man Toshira I love you!!!! Booby's....I hope your doing great.....You'll always be a great friend Send me a private message sometimes

[Thess]

Sorry, I apologise to everyone on vv, I don't know what I was thinking.

[Kilmoll the Sexy]

Notice my, "But we are doing better' comment - as in better then when Clinton left office, since that is the closest president to judge on.

Maybe because Clinton did not have to deal with the 9-11 attacks on one of the largest trade centers in the world....or Enron or WorldCom collapses due to criminal activity that occurred while he was in office. Yeah....great article.

[masteen]

I notice it also says "US Residents" and not US citizens. Illegal mexicans shouldn't count, as living in poverty here is a fuckton better than poverty in Mexico.

[Dregor Thule]

What is a shoe?

How does what is considered a shoe today compare to what was considered a shoe in the 1950s for example?

What does a size 9 adjusted for 1950's inflation fit a 4 person family back then?

What was the cost of a shoe in 1950, and how does it compare to the cost of a shoe today?

[Chmee]

What is a shoe?

How does what is considered a shoe today compare to what was considered a shoe in the 1950s for example?

What does a size 9 adjusted for 1950's inflation fit a 4 person family back then?

What was the cost of a shoe in 1950, and how does it compare to the cost of a shoe today?

Cox and Alm in their book "Myths of Rich and Poor - Why We are Better Off Than We Think" look at it by using the average manufacturing non-supervisory wage, and comparing how much time it would take to buy various products in the past as compared to today. Some of the numbers (book was copyright 1999, so numbers are from then).

Half Gallon of milk, 1950 16 minutes, 1999 7 minutes
one pound loaf of bread, 1950 6 minutes, 1999 3.5 minutes
gallon of gasoline, 1950 11 minutes, 1999 5.7 minutes
three pound chicken, 1950 1 hour, 11 minutes, 1999 14 minutes
100 kilowatt hrs of electricity, 1950 2 hours, 1999 38 minutes
100 miles of air travel, 1950 4 hours, 7 minutes, 1999 1 hour 2 minutes

For a couple articles that excerpt some of the book, see

http://reason.com/9512/COXfeat.shtml

and

http://reason.com/9808/fe.cox.shtml

Both are very much worth a read.

Also, some of the problems at just looking at falling wages are that it overlooks what people are getting in the way of non-monetary compensation (including benefits). It also overlooks the improved quality and variety of consumber goods available today.

[Toshira]

Notice my, "But we are doing better' comment - as in better then when Clinton left office, since that is the closest president to judge on.

Maybe because Clinton did not have to deal with the 9-11 attacks on one of the largest trade centers in the world....or Enron or WorldCom collapses due to criminal activity that occurred while he was in office. Yeah....great article.

Hooray for deregulation of the corporate sector. You do realize, btw, that Bush sleeps with former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay, yeah?