New Census data raises number of poor to 49 million

Source: Reuters

The number of Americans living in poverty reached a record 49.1 million in 2010, according to a new broader measure of poverty released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday.

That figure contrasts with an official poverty measure released in September that said there were 46.2 million poor people in the United States.

The new measure is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty by including the government benefits poor people receive and the expenses they pay. The official benchmark focuses more narrowly on cash wages.

Revised figures show lower poverty rates for children and black people but higher rates for whites, Asians, Hispanics and elderly people with high medical expenses.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/07/us-usa-poverty-idUSTRE7A634M20111107

Third world Nation. Who wants to live in a Third World Nation?

only blame the 1%ers and Republicans. Your Democrats and especially this president has done NOTHING to alevieate the problem. Quite the opposite in fact, him and his trade deals only serve to ship MORE U.S. jobs overseas.

of thinking past 1 on the cognitive rigor scale.

Edited for speeling.

that number will get FAR worse, I'm afraid.

.99 x 312,569,380 (the current US population)

http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html

Source: CNN Money

There were more than 49 million Americans living in poverty in 2010, under an alternative measure released by the Census Bureau Monday.
That's 16% of the nation, higher than the official poverty rate of 15.2%. The official rate, released in September, showed 46.6 million people living in poverty.

"The main driving force behind this measure was to give policy makers a handle of the effectiveness of poverty ," said Kathleen Short, an economist with the Census Bureau.

Non-cash government aid, as well as the earned income tax credit, lowered the poverty rate for recipients by as much as 2 percentage points.
Six temporary safety net programs that originated in the 2009 stimulus act helped keep 7 million people out of poverty, said Arloc Sherman, a senior researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, citing the new Census report. These include three new or expanded tax credits, two enhancements of unemployment insurance, and expanded food stamp benefits.

The Census Bureau analysis shows how important it is to maintain the funding of these aid programs, which are currently facing the budget knife as Congress seeks to reduce the deficit, said Ron Haskins, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution.

"The lead story should be that government programs are effective in reducing poverty," Haskins said.

Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/07/news/economy/poverty_rate/index.htm?iid=Lead

post?

The post I put had more to do with how "government programs are effective in reducing poverty". It was not just about Poverty rate numbers. A complete different topic?

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