Most recently, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that from 2002 to 2003
the number of Americans in poverty increased by 1.3 million people to
35.9 million. This caused the official poverty rate to rise from 12.1
to 12.5 percent. Although the poverty rates of African-Americans and
Hispanics did not change from 2002 to 2003, they both exceed 20
percent. One of the most disturbing aspects of the Census Bureau's
release was the increase in child poverty from 16.7 percent in 2002 to
17.6 percent. About 800,000 more children now live in poverty. The
White House's response to the poverty data was to treat them as old
news, as the economy supposedly has improved since 2003. Yes, after
over 30 months, albeit at a meager rate, the economy has started to add
jobs. But if we look at several of the key labor statistics that are
correlated with poverty, we will find that the prospects for Americans
who have no more than a high school degree, who are single parents or
are African-American have not improved since the Census Bureau
collected the data. [more ]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.
]