Bush sends 1.4 million into poverty

[Enceladus]

WASHINGTON (Sept. 2) - The nation's rocky economy sent 1.4 million more

people

into poverty last year, a Census Bureau survey found. Nearly half of the

newly

impoverished were children.
Roughly 17.2 percent of children, or 12.2 million, lived in poverty in

2002, up

from 16.4 percent, or over 11.5 million, in 2001, according to the

American

Community Survey results released Wednesday.
Overall, 12.4 percent of the population, or nearly 34.8 million people,

lived

in poverty in 2002, up from 12.1 percent, or 33.4 million, the previous

year.

Median household income rose by $51, when accounting for inflation, to

$43,057

after a similarly slight drop the previous year, when the nation was in
recession from March to November. Median income refers to the point at

which

half of households earn more and half earn less.
The increases in poverty in 2002 were ``not out of the ordinary'' for a
recession, and less severe than expected, said Sheldon Danzinger,

co-director

of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan.
``Results of the surveys have been consistent with what one would expect

during

a down economic period,'' said Chuck Nelson, who helps oversee income and
poverty statistics for the Census Bureau.
But Robert Greenstein, executive director of the liberal-leaning Center

for

Budget and Policy Priorities, blamed the increase in poverty on rising
unemployment and the government's failure to promote more child tax

credits for

low-income families and stronger unemployment insurance.
``People at the bottom tend to live paycheck to paycheck,'' Greenstein

said.

``This underscores that in trying to stimulate the economy, we should

probably

be doing more to assist low-income working families affected by the

downturn.''

The poverty threshold differs by the size and makeup of a household. For
instance, a person under 65 living alone in 2002 was considered in poverty

if

income was $9,359 or less; for a household of three including one child,

it was

$14,480.
Robert Rector of the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation,

said

welfare reform helped keep more single mothers in the labor force than in
previous economic downturns, and therefore, out of poverty.
``So now coming out of the recession, in terms of child poverty, it's a

very

optimistic picture,'' Rector said. ``In terms of the population overall,

it

looks like an ordinary recession.''
The American Community Survey is a questionnaire being tested by the

Census

Bureau as a possible yearly replacement for the 53-question ``long form''

sent

out at the start of each decade.
The new survey covers about 62,000 households each month nationwide. The

bureau

arrives at annual estimates by averaging survey results for each of the 12
months in a year.
The official government statistics on income and poverty come from a

separate,

more comprehensive survey that tracks economic status typically released

in

late September.
But Nelson said American Community Survey results still provide a glimpse

into

overall economic and demographic trends in the United States.
About 6.8 million households in 2002 received food stamps, up from 6.4

million

in 2001.
The number of people employed in the manufacturing industry dropped by

almost 5

percent, or 830,000, to under 17.1 million. There were also slight

decreases in

the retail trade, information, and transportation and warehousing

industries.

There was roughly a 4 percent rise in the number of people working in the
fields of education, health or social services to nearly 27.1 million. An
increase was also seen in the arts, entertainment, recreation,

accommodation

and food services category.
09/03/03 01:51 EDT
"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the
pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
- Hermann Goering

[basho007]

Post by Enceladus

WASHINGTON (Sept. 2) - The nation's rocky economy sent 1.4 million more

people

into poverty last year, a Census Bureau survey found. Nearly half of the

newly

impoverished were children.

I read yesterday that since Bush Jr took over there has been a net job loss
of 2.5 million jobs.

[Nagaer]

YOu people are realy something. Hallo! r u all born yesterday? Bush has been
screwing the poor bastard for years long before he became the president of
the United State.

Ask any poor in Texas, they couold tell you the real story.

Post by basho007

Post by Enceladus

WASHINGTON (Sept. 2) - The nation's rocky economy sent 1.4 million more

people

into poverty last year, a Census Bureau survey found. Nearly half of the

newly

impoverished were children.

I read yesterday that since Bush Jr took over there has been a net job loss
of 2.5 million jobs.

[Richard J]

Post by Nagaer
YOu people are realy something. Hallo! r u all born yesterday? Bush has been
screwing the poor bastard for years long before he became the president of
the United State.
Ask any poor in Texas, they couold tell you the real story.

Please tell me you are not a product of Texas schools.

Teflon

Post by Nagaer

Post by basho007

Post by Enceladus

WASHINGTON (Sept. 2) - The nation's rocky economy sent 1.4 million more

people

into poverty last year, a Census Bureau survey found. Nearly half of the

newly

impoverished were children.

I read yesterday that since Bush Jr took over there has been a net job

loss

Post by basho007
of 2.5 million jobs.