Well earlier today the US Census Bureau released their report on poverty in America. And it just backs up what far to many already know. That this country, and a good many of it's citizens are poor, not just like we cant take showers poor, like no house, living under a bridge in a tent city poor kind of poor. So when you hear some Milton Friedman lover say we have the highest standard of living, or that our poor compared to the poor of other industrialized nations is not bad, then you give em these numbers and remind them that we have more people living in poverty in this country per capita than any other industrialized nation:
15.1%- the percent of Americans who lived in poverty in 2010 the highest such number since 1993
2.6 MILLION- the amount of people who fell into poverty last year alone bringing that total to 46.2 million people
$22,314 or less- a family of four making this much or less is defined as living in poverty
22%- percent of children under 18 living in poverty
3.2 million- the number of people kept out of poverty thanks to unemployment insurance
20.3 million- number of people kept out of poverty thanks to Social Security
-11.3%- change in income between 2007-2010 for the bottom 20% of wage earners (in other words their wages went down)
-6.6%- change in income between 2007-2010 for the middle 20% of wage earners (again their wages went down)
-4.5%- change in income between 2007-2010 for top 20% of wage earners (again their wages went down)
^^BUT did you notice how the guys in the middle and on the bottom lost their income substantially more so than those at the top?
$6,298- The decline in median working-age household income from 2000-2010
$5,494- The decline in median African-American household income from 2000-2010
$4,235- The decline in median Hispanic household income from 2000-2010
49.1 million- Number of people under 65 without ANY health insurance
13.6 million- The decline in the number of people under 65 with employer-sponsored health insurance from 2000-2010
10.5% points- The decline in the share of the under 65 population with employer sponsored health insurance from 2000-2010
Look at those numbers imagine if that unemployment insurance and social security safety net was not there do you know how many people we would have in poverty right now?
that would be 69.7 MILLION Americans living in poverty without those social safety nets. Most of that 69.7 million would be in the Rust Belt (Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Buffalo all the way to Detroit were manufacturing jobs have left a massive black hole of unemployment and poverty), the Southern United States (where more people hate the government than any other place even though more people in this region receive government benefits than anywhere else in the nation, but also the loss of textiles, manufacturing, and family owned farms) and lastly big cities (New York, L.A., Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Atlanta, Philly, on and on and on all have massive populations, all have high poverty rates). But now the real shocker, even if we don't include those who are saved by social safety nets in this country, and just go with the raw 46.2 million in poverty now, just to put it in perspective here, thats 1 in 6 people. Let me say that again: 1 IN 6 PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LIVES IN POVERTY. Let that sink in on this Wednesday evening while you watch your big screen, play on your iPad, go out to eat, or even purchase that new pair of shoes you so desperately think you need. So next time you find yourself in a room with six people look around, because most likely one of you is living in poverty and wont find your way out any time soon
