Poverty

Shocking new data from the census shows that 1 in 2 Americans are poor or low-income. 

"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," [Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty] said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

Of course, if you ask a conservative think tank what they think about rising inequity and increasing numbers of poor and low-income people, he'll give you a well rehearsed talking point akin to pull-harder-on-your-bootstraps:

"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen," Rector said. "As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work."

As an aside, that sounds A LOT like a one Rep. Todd Akin's tone deaf remark recently regarding the payroll tax break for working families where he said, "people have to have an incentive to try and find a job, and when those benefits expire, there's a whole lot more pressure to really find something."

For the record, a significant number of those in need of assistance DO have jobs, Mr Rector and Mr Akin:

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' Off the Charts blog:  "Deep poverty — that is, the share of the population with incomes below half the poverty line — rose by a statistically significant amount in 40 states (including the District of Columbia) from 2007 to 2010 and fell in none, Census Bureau data released today show."

According to the census bureau, 385,117 Missourians lived below half the poverty line in 2010. 

Simply unacceptable.

The Associated Press and KY3 summarize a new Census report on poverty in Missouri: "A newly released report shows 14.8 percent (885,000)  of people in Missouri were poor last year, down from 15.5 percent (926,000) in 2009.  The Census Bureau's annual report, which was released on Tuesday, offers a snapshot of the economic well-being of U.S. households for 2010, when joblessness hovered above 9 percent for a second year... In Missouri, 14 percent (835,000) of residents lacked insurance last year, down from 2009 (14.6 percent and 871,000 people)..."

How does the Census define poor? It depends on how the number of family members. Here's a breakdown of the weighted average poverty thresholds for 2010, by family size:

Missouri News Horizon summarizes new census data about Missourians living in poverty: "Missouri is the 18th most populous state, but new federal data ranks the state 14th in the nation for the total number of people living in poverty. And, according to a new report released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau as a part of its annual American Community Survey, more Missourians experienced poverty in 2009 than in 2008. The number of Missourians who saw their income slip below the poverty level at some point in 2009 increased from the previous year by 1.2 percentage points to 849,009 people, or 14.6 percent of the state’s population."

HalfInTen.org has an interactive map of the data:

The Atlantic's Ronald Brownstein:

Thursday's annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and access to health care-the Bureau's principal report card on the well-being of average Americans-closes the books on the economic record of George W. Bush. 

 

It's not a record many Republicans are likely to point to with pride.

 

On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush's two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country's condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton's two terms, often substantially.