AHA! The REAL truth about the Economy

[irishgrl]

Census Bureau says 1.3 MILLION more Americans living in Poverty (who is REALLY enjoying the so called economic boom?)
Census data proves me right

Poverty spreads
Census Bureau says 1.3 million more slipped into poverty last year; health care coverage also drops.


August 26, 2004: 1:54 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The number of Americans living in poverty jumped to 35.9 million last year, up by 1.3 million, while the number of those without health care insurance rose to 45 million from 43.6 million in 2002, the U.S. government said in a report Thursday.

The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent from 12.1 percent -- as the poverty rate among children jumped to its highest level in 10 years, the Census Bureau said in an annual report. The rate for adults 18-to-64 and 65-and-older remained steady.

The bureau also said the share of aggregate income for the lowest 20 percent of Americans fell to 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent.

Democratic politicians were quick to seize on the new data, and none was quicker than their presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. He said the statistics "underscore the fundamental choice at stake in this election."

"Four more years of an administration that puts the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans, or new leadership that will serve as a champion for the middle-class and those struggling to join it," he said in a written statement.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., released a statement noting that the Census data covered the year 2003 and "does not include the full effect of the president's tax relief."

Gregg, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, took aim at Kerry, accusing the Massachusetts senator of planning to raise taxes and increase government spending and regulation.

Kerry has argued Bush's economic stewardship, including three rounds of tax cuts since 2001, has done more to help wealthy Americans than the poor or middle class.

But analysts have said the poverty rate typically tracks the broad economy, rising during a recession and falling in boom times. America has struggled to recover from the 2001 slump, and job creation has lagged behind overall growth.

Children and most racial minorities again fared worse than the overall population in 2003, according to the Census report. The rate of child poverty rose to 17.6 percent from 16.7 percent in 2002 -- boosting the number of poor children to 12.9 million.

The poverty rate of of African Americans remained nearly twice the national rate, with 24.4 percent of blacks living below the poverty line in 2003, slightly higher from 24.1 percent a year earlier.

Hispanic incomes decline

While the real median income for the entire country remained steady, households with Hispanic householders, who can be of any race, reported a decline in median income of 2.6 percent.

Non-Hispanic white household median income remained about $48,000, black households held at $30,000, while Asian households were steady at $55,500.

The West, at $46,820, Northeast, at $46,742, and Midwest, at $44,732, saw no change in median household income, but the South fell 1.5 percent to $39,823.

Women saw a decline in their earnings for the first time since 1995, falling 0.6 percent to $30,724, putting the female-to-male earnings ratio -- for full-time, year-round workers -- at 76 cents on the dollar, a penny lower than 2002.

Health care coverage also dropped last year, the Census Bureau said in its report, seen by some as an important scorecard on the nation's economy and Bush's first term in office.

The number of Americans living without insurance jumped 1.4 million last year, the government said in a report on Thursday. (For more on the report, click here ).

Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor, saw an increase in people covered to 35.6 million from 33.2 million while those covered by Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly, rose to 39.5 million from 38.4 million people.

The Office of Management and Budget at the Census Bureau defined the poverty threshold in 2003 as $18,810 for a family of four; $14,680 for a family of three; $12,015 for a family of two; and $9,393 for an individual. Top of page

-- Reuters contributed to the story

it feels good to be vindicated. I always said the man on the street wasnt feeling the benefits of the so-called rosy economy. Not ALL of us can jet set around the globe.....Some of us cant even afford groceries....and now with gas prices going up......its just disgusting.

[irishgrl]

another article with graphs and stuff!

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

another article with graphs and stuff!

Thank you for sharing. It's rather alarming to say the least.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Thank you for sharing. It's rather alarming to say the least.

It's awful. Now folks have a very vivid picture of the cultural divide down in NO. Yes there are lots of poor people in this country that have been completely abandoned and are losing/have lost hope. It is extremely troubling.

[lbelle1214]

Originally Posted by irishgrl

Census Bureau says 1.3 MILLION more Americans living in Poverty (who is REALLY enjoying the so called economic boom?)
Census data proves me right

Poverty spreads
Census Bureau says 1.3 million more slipped into poverty last year; health care coverage also drops.


August 26, 2004: 1:54 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The number of Americans living in poverty jumped to 35.9 million last year, up by 1.3 million, while the number of those without health care insurance rose to 45 million from 43.6 million in 2002, the U.S. government said in a report Thursday.

The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent from 12.1 percent -- as the poverty rate among children jumped to its highest level in 10 years, the Census Bureau said in an annual report. The rate for adults 18-to-64 and 65-and-older remained steady.

The bureau also said the share of aggregate income for the lowest 20 percent of Americans fell to 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent.

Democratic politicians were quick to seize on the new data, and none was quicker than their presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. He said the statistics "underscore the fundamental choice at stake in this election."

"Four more years of an administration that puts the narrow interests of the few ahead of the interests of most Americans, or new leadership that will serve as a champion for the middle-class and those struggling to join it," he said in a written statement.

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., released a statement noting that the Census data covered the year 2003 and "does not include the full effect of the president's tax relief."

Gregg, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, took aim at Kerry, accusing the Massachusetts senator of planning to raise taxes and increase government spending and regulation.

Kerry has argued Bush's economic stewardship, including three rounds of tax cuts since 2001, has done more to help wealthy Americans than the poor or middle class.

But analysts have said the poverty rate typically tracks the broad economy, rising during a recession and falling in boom times. America has struggled to recover from the 2001 slump, and job creation has lagged behind overall growth.

Children and most racial minorities again fared worse than the overall population in 2003, according to the Census report. The rate of child poverty rose to 17.6 percent from 16.7 percent in 2002 -- boosting the number of poor children to 12.9 million.

The poverty rate of of African Americans remained nearly twice the national rate, with 24.4 percent of blacks living below the poverty line in 2003, slightly higher from 24.1 percent a year earlier.

Hispanic incomes decline

While the real median income for the entire country remained steady, households with Hispanic householders, who can be of any race, reported a decline in median income of 2.6 percent.

Non-Hispanic white household median income remained about $48,000, black households held at $30,000, while Asian households were steady at $55,500.

The West, at $46,820, Northeast, at $46,742, and Midwest, at $44,732, saw no change in median household income, but the South fell 1.5 percent to $39,823.

Women saw a decline in their earnings for the first time since 1995, falling 0.6 percent to $30,724, putting the female-to-male earnings ratio -- for full-time, year-round workers -- at 76 cents on the dollar, a penny lower than 2002.

Health care coverage also dropped last year, the Census Bureau said in its report, seen by some as an important scorecard on the nation's economy and Bush's first term in office.

The number of Americans living without insurance jumped 1.4 million last year, the government said in a report on Thursday. (For more on the report, click here ).

Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor, saw an increase in people covered to 35.6 million from 33.2 million while those covered by Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly, rose to 39.5 million from 38.4 million people.

The Office of Management and Budget at the Census Bureau defined the poverty threshold in 2003 as $18,810 for a family of four; $14,680 for a family of three; $12,015 for a family of two; and $9,393 for an individual. Top of page

-- Reuters contributed to the story

it feels good to be vindicated. I always said the man on the street wasnt feeling the benefits of the so-called rosy economy. Not ALL of us can jet set around the globe.....Some of us cant even afford groceries....and now with gas prices going up......its just disgusting.

I must respectfully disagree with the decrease in pay for women....I saw a $4.00/hr raise. As did many of my other friends (women). The incident of rise in Medicaid was partially due to the number of our military families who do not make enough pay to get them by and must depend on medicaid to supplement their income. And the last two years were the first two in the last 7 that I did not have to pay an enormous amount of taxes back.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by lbelle1214

I must respectfully disagree with the decrease in pay for women....

How can you disagree with the census bureau?

[amber]

Do I have permission to publish this in Der Magazine???

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by lbelle1214

I must respectfully disagree with the decrease in pay for women....I saw a $4.00/hr raise. As did many of my other friends (women). The incident of rise in Medicaid was partially due to the number of our military families who do not make enough pay to get them by and must depend on medicaid to supplement their income. And the last two years were the first two in the last 7 that I did not have to pay an enormous amount of taxes back.

you are an aberration then. (not you personally, your situation). I have previously posted a link that details the status of women in society today. Also, please see this
see graphic

[irishgrl]

This from the IWPR:

The Gender Wage Ratio: Women’s and Men’s Earnings
Women’s annual earnings, relative to men’s, have moved up more slowly since the early 1990s than previously, and still remain substantially below parity. Women who work full-time throughout the year (the usual group used for measuring the gender wage ratio) earned 76.5 percent as much as men in 2004. If part-time and part-year workers were included, the ratio would be much lower, as women are more likely than men to work these reduced schedules in order to manage child-rearing and other caregiving work. In 2004, median annual earnings for women working full-time year-round were $31,223. Men with similar work effort earned $40,798. Women’s median annual earnings fell from 2003 to 2004 by 1.0 percent, for the second consecutive year-to-year decline. Nevertheless, the gender wage ratio rose slightly, because men’s earnings dropped even more, by 2.3 percent. Thus, women’s apparent progress masks worsening economic conditions for all workers. The gender wage ratio is now statistically the same as its all-time high of 76.6, reached in 2002, having just regained the previous year’s loss. Comparing weekly earnings, a data series that excludes the self-employed and does not refl ect pay differences such as annual bonuses, the gender wage ratio has improved by more than eight percentage points since 1990 and now stands at
80.4, an all-time high.

The Gender Wage Ratio, 1955-2004, Full-Time Workers
Information about gender wage ratios by race and ethnicity is available in Women’s Economic Status in the States: Wide Disparities by Race, Ethnicity, and Region (http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/R260.pdf) and in U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Income Tables, Table P-40 (http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/histinc/p40.html).

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by amber

Do I have permission to publish this in Der Magazine???

certainly. be aware however that there are those who buy into the spin that the economy is improving...without taking into consideration that the improvements are only realized at the corporate level, not realized by you and I.

[irishgrl]

Status of Women in the States

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by lbelle1214

I must respectfully disagree with the decrease in pay for women....I saw a $4.00/hr raise.

Congratulations. That's enough to get you a gallon of gas in some places.