To be Poor is a Crime

Aljazeera

Today, 16 percent of the U.S. population — 49.7 million people, according to the supplemental poverty measure — live in poverty, compared to 35 million, or approximately 20 percent, in the 1960s. But the faces of the poor have changed. An analysis of Census Bureau data shows that African-Americans, Latinos, single-parent households and high-school graduates are now more likely to be officially poor. Even so, according to Columbia University research, the current poverty rate would be nearly twice as high were it not for war on poverty initiatives like food stamps, unemployment insurance and Social Security.

The problems raised by Johnson 50 years ago — high poverty rates, long-term unemployment, lack of medical care and housing, racial discrimination and limited access to education and training — are just as urgent today. Yet, despite growing awareness of inequality, a policy consensus remains elusive. [MORE]