U.S. Seeing Dramatic Rise In Severe Poverty 26 Percent Increase In Poorest Americans Since 2000
By Tony Pugh MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPER
WASHINGTON - The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen.
A McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 -- half the federal poverty line -- was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.
The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That's 56 percent faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy's review also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise in severely poor residents isn't confined to large urban counties but extends to suburban and rural areas.
Kentucky's deep poverty rate increased 26 percent from 2000 to 2005, adding 59,305 people to the ranks of the severely poor according to the study. Kentucky's poverty rate, 16.8 percent, and deep poverty rate, 7.1 percent, for 2005 are both higher than the national averages of 13.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.
'Permanent underclass'
The plight of the severely poor is a distressing sidebar to an unusual economic expansion. Worker productivity has increased dramatically since the brief recession of 2001, but wages and job growth have lagged behind and the share of national income going to corporate profits has dwarfed the amount going to wages and salaries. That helps explain why the median household income of working-age families, adjusted for inflation, has fallen for five straight years.
These and other factors have helped push 43 percent of the nation's 37 million poor people into deep poverty -- the highest rate since at least 1975.
The share of poor Americans in deep poverty has climbed slowly but steadily over the last three decades. But since 2000, the number of severely poor has grown "more than any other segment of the population," according to a recent study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
"That was the exact opposite of what we anticipated when we began," said Dr. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University, who co-authored the study. "We're not seeing as much moderate poverty as a proportion of the population. What we're seeing is a dramatic growth of severe poverty."
The growth, which leveled off in 2005, in part reflects how hard it is for low-skilled workers to earn their way out of poverty in a job market that favors skilled and educated workers. It also suggests that social programs aren't as effective as they once were at catching those who fall into economic despair.
About one in three severely poor people are under age 17, and nearly two out of three are female. Female-headed families with children account for a large share of the severely poor.
According to census data, nearly two of three people in severe poverty are white (10.3 million) and 6.9 million are non-Hispanic whites. Severely poor blacks (4.3 million) are more than three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be in deep poverty, while extremely poor Hispanics of any race (3.7 million) are more than twice as likely.
Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has a higher concentration of severely poor people -- 10.8 percent in 2005 -- than any of the 50 states, topping even hurricane-ravaged Mississippi and Louisiana, with 9.3 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. Nearly six of 10 poor District residents are in extreme poverty.
The problem of severe poverty is most pronounced, however, in towns near the Mexican border and in some areas of the South, where 6.5 million severely poor residents are struggling to find work as manufacturing jobs in the textile, apparel and furniture-making industries disappear. The Midwestern Rust Belt and areas of the Northeast also have been hard hit as economic restructuring and foreign competition have forced numerous plant closings.
At the same time, low-skilled immigrants with impoverished family members are increasingly drawn to the South and Midwest to work in the meatpacking, food processing and agricultural industries.
"What appears to be taking place is that, over the long term, you have a significant permanent underclass that is not being impacted by anti-poverty policies," said Michael Tanner, the director of Health and Welfare Studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
Arloc Sherman, a senior researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank, disagreed. "It doesn't look like a growing permanent underclass," said Sherman, whose organization has chronicled the growth of deep poverty. "What you see in the data are more and more single moms with children who lose their jobs and who aren't being caught by a safety net anymore."
The 'sinkhole effect'
As more poor Americans sink into severe poverty, more individuals and families living within $8,000 above or below the poverty line also have seen their incomes decline. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University attributes this to what he calls a "sinkhole effect" on income.
"Just as a sinkhole causes everything above it to collapse downward, families and individuals in the middle and upper classes appear to be migrating to lower-income tiers that bring them closer to the poverty threshold," Woolf wrote in the study.
Over the last two decades, America has had the highest or near-highest poverty rates for children, individual adults and families among 31 developed countries, according to the Luxembourg Income Study, a 23-year project that compares poverty and income data from 31 industrial nations.
"It's shameful," said Timothy Smeeding, the former director of the study and the current head of the Center for Policy Research at Syracuse University. "We've been the worst performer every year since we've been doing this study."
With the exception of Mexico and Russia, the U.S. devotes the smallest portion of its gross domestic product to federal anti-poverty programs, and those programs are among the least effective at reducing poverty, the study found. Again, only Russia and Mexico do worse jobs.
The Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation shows that, in a given month, only 10 percent of severely poor Americans received Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in 2003 -- the latest year available -- and that only 36 percent received food stamps.
One in three Americans will experience a full year of extreme poverty at some point in his or her adult life, according to research by Mark Rank, a professor of social welfare at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
An estimated 58 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 75 will spend at least a year in poverty, Rank said. Two of three will use a public assistance program between ages 20 and 65, and 40 percent will do so for five years or more.
Crawford, TX - President Bush, speaking to oil executives at his Crawford, Texas ranch, says poverty and fewer jobs is part of his domestic policy. "Obviously, our number one goal is to conserve fuel. The fewer jobs people are obligated to, the less driving to and from work people will have, and we will save something like zillions of gallons of gasoline annually" said Bush.
Bush also says that the poverty stricken areas of our nation must be cleaned up, but it's not the government's responsibility. "These folks have an obligation to keep their streets and neighborhoods clean, and employment gets in the way of that progress. Staying home and cleaning your up streets and neighborhoods should be these individual's first obligation, for their poverty stricken future generations."
Bush also took oil executives on a tour of his Crawford ranch and spoke of the dozens of jobs he has created for illegal immigrants from South of the Texas border, walking execs through his "Camp Detaino" barraks where 43 migrant farm workers reside. "This is what America is all about - offering hope to the less fortunate from outside our country. For example, look over there at that 2 stall outhouse these latinos built. They took it upon themselves to improve their own conditions, constructing that s**thouse by hand after craping in the woods for almost 3 years. That is the spirit we all need to development during these tough times of war and sacrafice."
Bush then loaded oil execs and his staff into his 5 customized Hummer Limos and traveled a quarter-mile to his plantation residence.
Thanks for providing the article from the Herald-Leader about the increase in the number of citizens who are now in poverty. This is an alarming situation and clearly the few haves, have nearly everything and the many have nots, have virtually nothing.
Bush-Cheney have written their legacy and it is one of greed, corruption, and selfishness. They will long be remembered as being the worst administration in our nation's history.
Funny thing is, when it comes to political lines, people are blind. I'm sure there are some people who convince themselves that this is some sort of left-wing conspiracy, that CNN made up this story, some idiot like Michael Moore sat around smokin' dope and conceived this for his new movie, and have really convinced themselves that Bush is an upstanding leader, a devoted Christian, and cares about all people, mainly because he's a part of "their" political affiliation.
Wake up people - it's not where someone lives, what their political party is, what they "Claim" are their Christian values (actions speak louder than words), what their race is, who they call their friends, what business they are in, etc. There are great people out there, and there are scumbags out there, both republicans and democrats. It's just the Republicans, or I should say the far right extremists, seem to have a harder time excepting fault, both in themselves and in their leaders, even when it is obvious.
Bush and Cheney are awful people. It's time we ALL admit it.
Very well stated. I am in pretty good shape financially, and it is an embarrassment to me that we would cut the taxes of our wealthiest people while many men and women are fighting in a war with inferior equipment. We should all have to sacrifice when we are in a war. And those who have the most wealth should be willing to carry more than their load of the burden. Bush-Cheney are the worst leaders our nation has ever had.
Read this in the Lexington paper last weekend, and it is a shame. We have to start taking care of our own people and quit worrying about changing everyone else.
I was talking to a hard working man this past week and he is in his 50's. He has no medical insurance for his family. He is a good, honest laborer. He told me he lives from pay check to pay check. The high gasoline taxes have made it even more difficult on him. His company does not offer benefits. He had 13 years with one company with benefits and they had a work force reduction and he lost that job about ten years ago. While a few of our richest people profit from this terrible war in Iraq the working people of America are barely hanging on.
Education, medical insurance, retirement security---these are needs that are vanishing and the Bush-Cheney Acministration has placed all of these things in jeopardy. The cost of a college education has skyrocketed. Our young people are graduating with debt up to the ears. It will take us years to get over this Bush-Cheney failure.
Last night I watched several explanations of what is now being called the mortgage meltdown. During the first George Bush Presidency we had the meltdown of Savings and Loan Companies. The Government ended up spending billions to help wealthy Savings and Loans Companies self off.
Now in the second George Bush Acministration in addition to a war that is drivining us into deep debt, there is now in place a mortgage meltdown which will be soon followed by a credit card meltdown. We have borrowed our way into chaos in our government and in our private lives. The real estate market in many areas of the nation is dropping in sales and values. Many people are going to default on their mortgages.
It is forecasted that the credit card crunch will be next. People have piled up huge debt in high interest credit cards. We had better get our government working back in the real world instead of the make believe world of Bush-Cheney. The harm they have brought to the world and to our nation will be with us many years. I watched President Bush speak yesterday on TV and it was frightening. He is a desperate man who still does not understand just how bad his leadership has been. This Republican Administration has clamored about how pure and religious they are when the past 61/2 have been filled with the corruption of the Abramoff Lobby scandal, the Foley scandal in which one of the leading Congressmen was after male pages, Gonzales has bitten the dust because he is one of the worst Attorney General's in our History, Libby lied to a Grand Jury, Rumsfeld let our troops down with his incompetent leadership, Karl Rove was a hatchet man buddy of the President, Wolfowitz was one of the creators of our Iraq War Policies who enbarrassed our nation with his preferential treatment of his girl friend at the World Bank, Congressman Cunningham is in prison for taking bribes, Senator Craig of Idaho pled guilty to making passes to a security officer in the restroom of the Minneapolis Airport, and I could go on and on. It is pitiful. Those who are pious and claim to be the purest are sometimes the worst hypocrites in our world.
Here in this area the people are not used to hearing any criticism of the Republican Party. The Nighberts, Patricks, Bartons, and others of their clique can do their own thing for their own good and people just let it go. If anyone wants all political parties to be treated with fairness it is believed it is just not how things are supposed to be done. There are some real wimps who will quickly swallow any milarky that comes along. Fortunately in other parts of American people are waking up.
Blah blah blah. You forgot to whine about health care and the uninsured.
I agree with the previous posters. This does sound like President Bush's typical answer. This vocabulary indicates that if it was not the President who sent this one it must have been Karl Rove.
Blah blah blah. You forgot to whine about health care and the uninsured.
*We should be concerned about those nearly 50 Million Americans who don't have health care. *We should be concerned about our brave troops fighting in Iraq the middle east for over four years. *We should be concerned about the number of people who face foreclosure on mortgages. *We should be concerned about huge debt we are piling up for our children and grandchildren to pay. * We should be concerned about a political party that won the White House on the campaign of family values that has turned out to be corrupt to the core. * We should be concerned when an Attorney General like Gonzales makes a mockery out of our Judicial System. *We should be concerned when lobbyist like Abramoff buy their clients power and favoritism through free trips including hotels, airlines, golf, dinners, sports tickets, and campaign gifts. * We should be concerned when we invade a country because of WMD's which turns out to be a big lie. * We should be concerned that Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld sent our troops to fight, die, and be maimed with no plan to establish security and bring about reconciliation among people who hate and despise each other and us. * We should be concerned when the original estimates on the cost of the war were so much lower than the costs have now been incurred. * We should be concerned when we can't help get the victims of Katrina helped in our own country because we are spending so much money on a war that is draining our resources. * We should be concerned when our troops have been ill equipped, sent back on deployment as many as four times, do not get adequate medical care in a place like Walter Reed Hospital, and their family members live in constant fear and apprehension about the safety of their sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and others. * We should be concerned that our troops and their families are carrying the burden of this war and those of us who are wealthy have tax cuts and living life as usual. * We should be concerned that after 9/11 the nations of the world were with us and supporting the War on Terror, and now the other nations of the world no longer trust or support us. * We should be concerned that our strongest supporter, the Brittish, will soon have their troops all pulled out of Basra, and our troops will also have that area to secure. * We should be concerned that those who claim to be the most religious and holy look down on the Americans who are Democrats or Independents, are the ones who get caught trying to romance male pages, or find partners in a men's restroom at an airport, who disclose the identity of a covert CIA agent, who get sent to prison for lying to a grand jury, who authorize torture, who feel they are not accountable for their actions, and who make a mockery of our justice system.
We should be concerned because there are many other examples of the incompentence and deception we have had the last 61/2 years. And we should be concerned that we have over one more year to have to put up with this group.
Wow! Most impressive how all of these things just popped up in the last 6 Years, the poor ole Democrats share no responsibility at all for creating and not responding to these many things you post, your correct on several points but your post is only an attempt to cleverly play the Politcal Game and throw all the Republicans out the door.
The 1st Trade center Bombing happened in 1993 under the Clinton Administration, what again did we do about this and the Radical Muslim Fundmentalist that massively grew, trained Militia in Afganistan and planned 9/11??
The 50 Million people who are uninsured? Did they all just pop up over night? There were 40 Million Uninsured when Clinton left office also, but you forgot to put that in.
The abramoff scandal, well well, just who ALL do you think was on his list that congress is investigating? Only Republicans?? Of course not, this guy lobbied both parties and is the very reason they are hesitant to dig too deep, the Lobby problem is absolutley out of Control in DC and has been for 50 years with both parties lining their pockets.
Now the War, what a mess, we all agree. This war unfortunatley was not about WMD's, it's about Oil, you know the stuff all of us use in our cars, Plastics' which include Pieces for Computers, Tables, Cars, Construction, MP3 Players, Tools, everything that effects your daily life. If this supply is cut the world economy goes down the Hole.
The War is still a Huge mess and the President never had the Guts to tell us the above was the real reason, and our responsibility is? Well Well, for all of the folks who are crying for us to get out, I don't see them not Buying Gas, Not buying plastics, avoiding all of the above. But I do seem them with Big Homes, Burning Massive Amounts of Gasoline in their Lincolns, Toyota's, Honda's???
There is a COST for our Lifestyle, we willing to sacrifice???
The 1st Trade center Bombing happened in 1993 under the Clinton Administration, what again did we do about this and the Radical Muslim Fundmentalist that massively grew, trained Militia in Afganistan and planned 9/11??
* the guiilty parties were brought to justice. The leader is in prison for life. The police, FBI, and Justice Department did a good job of identifying and prosecuting them.
The 50 Million people who are uninsured? Did they all just pop up over night? There were 40 Million Uninsured when Clinton left office also, but you forgot to put that in.
* You are right. There were 40 Million without medical insurance when Bush was elected. There were 37 million when Clinton was elected. All you have to do is compare the numbers.
The abramoff scandal, well well, just who ALL do you think was on his list that congress is investigating? Only Republicans?? Of course not, this guy lobbied both parties and is the very reason they are hesitant to dig too deep, the Lobby problem is absolutley out of Control in DC and has been for 50 years with both parties lining their pockets.
* There is corruption in both parties. The overwhelming number of corrupt cases in the past six years is within the Republican Party. This is true in Washington, DC and in Frankfort.
Now the War, what a mess, we all agree. This war unfortunatley was not about WMD's, it's about Oil, you know the stuff all of us use in our cars, Plastics' which include Pieces for Computers, Tables, Cars, Construction, MP3 Players, Tools, everything that effects your daily life. If this supply is cut the world economy goes down the Hole.
* The war is a huge mess. Nearly all Americans supported the war on terror, but it got side tracked when we invaded Iraq to force a Democracy down the throats those who don't want a Democracy. Now the War on Terror in Afghanistan is getting harder and harder because we diverted our attention and resources to fight in a religious civil war in Iraq.
The War is still a Huge mess and the President never had the Guts to tell us the above was the real reason, and our responsibility is? Well Well, for all of the folks who are crying for us to get out, I don't see them not Buying Gas, Not buying plastics, avoiding all of the above. But I do seem them with Big Homes, Burning Massive Amounts of Gasoline in their Lincolns, Toyota's, Honda's???
* You are correct. It is a war for oil. We have not had the guts for the last 27 years to seek to get our energy needsout of the control of the Middle East Oil Barons. When Bush came in to office he scoffed at needing to cut back on oil and gosoline.
As a Christian Democrat I am tired of being accused of not following the Lord as preached by many preachers. As a former military member whose dad fought in World War II I am tired of being called unpatriotic by the hard right if I happen to disagree with the direction our nation is travelling. This area is so used to dominating the political power with the Republicans it is probably a new thing to hear people stand up for the Democratic party.
There is a COST for our Lifestyle, we willing to sacrifice???
* There is already a cost to the lifestyle of many Americans. Lower paying jobs, higher gasoline costs, few people being able to save, fewer people who have medical insurance, higher college costs, and an Administration whose first priority is the the rich and privileged. Kentucky and the United States need a change in direction.
*Do I believe the Republicans are all bad? No. Many of my relatives are Republicans but their party has failed the American people.
I'm gonna spar with you this time. In your Lecture you never, not one time indicated ANY Democrats have ANY responsibility for anything that has unfolded, not a single one. Not ONE time did you note a single Democrat who had a hand in all of this mess. So my point is your your 100% Bias in your postings.
The Guilty parties HAVE NOT been brought to Justice, only the third ranking member of this circle has been caught. Bin laden was also involved in this and we already know he has not been caught, you also failed to mention the CIA advised the President Clinton on April 20th of 1994 they could take Bin Laden out and did not!
Abramhoff: Give me the numbers of both Democrat & Republicans who have had Grand Jury Indictments at the State & Federal Level for the last 20 years, let's see if you will even mention a Democrat.
The War: You think we are not fighting a Religious War in Afganistan also? Who do you think were up against. As I said before the war in Iraq is over Oil, of which you freely and willingly use, that pertains to both Repubicans & Democrats. Look at the home John Edwards lives in??? 10,000 Sq Ft, 500 Dollar Haircuts, the same for the republicans. You also said the Last 27 Years we have not got our priorities in order with Middle East Oil Barrons, right, Is that not what your post Said? Was president Clinton in Office during this time, but you only mentioned Bush, now did'nt you?
You cry about the last 27 Years but again you mention no democrat, why?
Now on the Military side, my family also served in WWII & Korea, I was in the 82nd Airborne myself. Nobody here is questioning your patriotism that i have seen?? The issue here my friend is OIL, the Roofing you have on your nice home, the Plastics in your car, the Gas you Power it with, the home heating Oil the northeast uses. 50% of Oil is not used for gas but other products so the need is massive.
I guess we can certainly disagree but as long as both parties continue saying one thing and not changeing our habbits then little will change, the troops will leave Iraq when you, me and all of us reduce the dependency on OIL.
I also might add the 9/11 attacks came after Bush had been in office only a few months, accordingly Khalid Shak Mohammed who was caught in Pakistan, the Plot was contirved two years prior when president Clinton was in office, you did not mention that either. It's all the republicans fault, right. This thinking and your hard left view will help us defeat you next fall in general election and may also give that Bumbling, Fumbling Flethcher a chance if you keep hammering republicans for everything wrong in the entire world.
My last comment on this disagreement is for you tell me one thing that is better today than it was 6 1/2 years ago. I can name you thirty or more things that are worse.
My last comment on this disagreement is for you tell me one thing that is better today than it was 6 1/2 years ago. I can name you thirty or more things that are worse.
I stayed up all night trying to think of one thing that is better now than when Bush first became President.
Finally after a sleepless night I came up with one thing. 6 1/2 years ago we didn't realize how bad eight years of Bush in the White House would be for us and the World. Thank goodness now we only have him as President 1 1/3 more years. The bad thing is that even 1 1/3 years of Bush-Cheney is 1 1/3 years too much.
I can name dozens of things that are far worse today than even yesterday, and my last comment on this point is the same one I have made twice now:
You will not acknowledge a SINGLE Democrat that sit back and let this administration get away with everything that has occured, at the State or Federal level.
I can at least say i acknowledge what a Bumbling, Fumbling Governor we have had in Fletcher, the many Republican Federal Officall's like Delay and others who have absolutley melted down.
Your problem is and I am exposing you that you will NEVER admit any Democrat that has ever done anything wrong and you will not admit that you and your democrat pals use just as much gas, materials, live in Huge Homes, Drive Big Cars, get $500 Dollar haircuts just like the Republicans.
Again, when all of this comes out next fall, that's why it will be a close election. The Dems should actually win easy but will not because all of their inactions and hard left views will get exposed, and one last note, their inability to admit mistakes like voting for the war!!!!
A Moderate Dem who can admit failures and Mistakes can win easy, but we Republicans are depending on your Hard Leftist to silence this crowd and give us a shot to win next fall!!!
One other thing that is better today than it was 6.5 years ago, your Tax return!! Post your tax return form 2000 and the return from 2006 and lets all see if your worse off??? The Same with the Clinton's, Beshear, Mongiardo, you think they are worse off?????
