The Poor Get Poorer And More Numerous

The sign being carried by the woman in the picture above may seem humorous right now, but the congressional Republicans (and their Blue Dog friends) seem to be bound and determined to make it a reality. While demanding more government giveaways for the rich, they are systematically dismantling the social safety net for the poor, the disadvantaged, the elderly, and the unemployed. And their nefarious plan is working -- the rich are richer than ever while the poor are getting poorer and their numbers are growing.

Yesterday I posted about how worker wages are falling -- a drop of 1.2% just in the last year. But the situation is much grimmer for those who are unable to find a job. Many of them are slipping into poverty, and the number of people living in poverty is growing each year. And with not enough jobs being created to even keep up with the number of new workers entering the job hunt and social programs that could help them being slashed, they are left with no place to turn.

The United States Census Bureau has just released its latest report on poverty in American, and it paints a very stark picture of what is happening in this country. Here are some of the unpalatable facts it reveals:

* The number of people living in poverty in America increased from 42.9 million in 2009 to 46.2 million in 2010 (an increase of 3.3 million people). Percentage-wise that's an increase from 14.3% to 15.3%.

* Not a single state showed a statistically significant drop in their poverty rate.

* In the last year, thirty-two states showed an increase in the number and percentage of people living in poverty (and for twenty states this was at least their second year in a row to show an increase).

* The people who live on an income of less than half of the poverty level increased from 6.3% in 2009 to 6.8% in 2010 -- showing that the poor are getting even poorer.

* The percentage of people whose income is less than 125% of the poverty level increased from 18.9% in 2009 to 20.1% in 2010. That means another 4.8% of all Americans are in serious danger of slipping into poverty.

Here are the 10 states with the most and least amounts of poverty (but even the states with the least amount have a far too high rate of poverty):

10 STATES WITH THE HIGHEST POVERTY RATES
Mississippi...............22.4% (643,883)
New Mexico...............20.4% (413,851)
Alabama...............19.0% (888,290)
Kentucky...............19.0% (800,226)
Arkansas...............18.8% (534,898)
Louisiana...............18.7% (825,144)
South Carolina...............18.2% (815,755)
West Virginia...............18.1% (326,507)
Texas...............17.9% (4,414,481)
Georgia...............17.9% (1,688,932)

10 STATES WITH THE LOWEST POVERTY RATES
New Hampshire...............8.3% (105,786)
Alaska...............9.9% (69,279)
Maryland...............9.9% (557,140)
Connecticut...............10.1% (350,145)
New Jersey...............10.3% (884,789)
Hawaii...............10.7% (142,185)
Virginia...............11.1% (861,969)
Massachusetts...............11.4% (725,143)
Minnesota...............11.6% (599,516)
Delaware...............11.8% (103,427)

AND SOME OTHERS
District of Columbia...............19.2% (109,423)
Puerto Rico...............45.0% (1,659,792)
New York...............14.9% (2,821,470)
California...............15.8% (5,783,043)
Pennsylvania...............13.4% (1,648,184)
Ohio...............15.8% (1,779,032)
Illinois...............13.8% (1,731,711)
Florida...............16.5% (3,047,343)
Michigan...............16.8% (1,618,257)
Arizona...............17.4% (1,094,249)
Oklahoma...............16.9% (616,610)
Missouri...............15.3% (888,570)
Tennessee...............17.7% (1,095,466)

After looking at these atrocious numbers (and they are all atrocious), I think any politician who suggests that the social safety net be further cut to provide the rich with more tax cuts should be charged with a crime against humanity. Is it any wonder that Occupy Wall Street's call for economic justice has struck a chord with the American people?