With the unemployment rate rising like a helium-filled balloon, it should come as no surprise that the number of people living in poverty is also rising. The U.S. Census Bureau says the poverty rate is currently at an eleven-year high. If the job situation does not improve soon, the poverty rate could get much worse.According to the Census Bureau, there were 39.8 million Americans living below the federally-defined poverty level in 2008. That is 13.2% of the population (up from 12.5% in 2007). That is a shameful statistic for the "richest" nation on earth (even in a recession).
It's easy to see from the chart above which party cares about the poor and which one doesn't. The poverty rate was exorbitant (over 20%) when the Democrats regained control in 1960. The rate started down with President Kennedy, and then dropped enormously when President Johnson initiated his "War on Poverty". President Nixon (a moderate Republican), to his credit, kept the rate pretty low (11-12%). But neither he nor President Carter were able to lower the rate further.
But then the conservatives came to power, and under President Reagan, the poverty rate again shot up to over 15%. When President Clinton was elected, he was able to get the rate back down to about 11-12% in spite of having a Republican Congress. When President Bush came into office, the rate again began to climb and by 2008 stood at 13.2%. The rate is expected to rise again this year thanks to the catastrophic recession brought on by Bush policies.
It's too early to see how President Obama's administration will affect the poverty rate. Hopefully, once he is able to bring the nation out of the recession, he will institute policies that will bring the poverty rate down sharply (ideally below 10%). We'll just have to wait and see.
There are those who say the poor will always be with us. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can't help but believe that in a nation as rich as America, a poverty rate of over 10% is totally unacceptable.
"Hopefully, once he is able to bring the nation out of the recession, he will institute policies that will bring the poverty rate down sharply (ideally below 10%)."
ReplyDeleteHow?
How about another Johnson-style War on Poverty?
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the chart you posted (this chart shows it a little more clearly), you'll see that since 1959, the poverty rate has never been below 10%.
ReplyDeleteIt also shows that the sharpest decline in the poverty rate had already occurred by the the time Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964. The modest decline that occurred after this policy was enacted is about on a par with the decline after the Welfare Reform of 1996.
Another problem is cost. President Obama has taken the abysmal deficits he inherited from the Bush Administration and made them even worse. The oversold $787 billion stimulus package was going to keep the jobless rate below 8%; we're now dangerously close to double-digit unemployment, with talk of a "jobless recovery."
As the annual cost of servicing the national debt creeps closer and closer to total annual revenues, where are we going to find the money for a War on Poverty? If we simply print more money, inflation will eat us alive.
Like you, I "hope" President Obama will be able to bring the nation out of the recession, but I'm afraid that spending our way out makes about as much sense as running up your credit card to avoid bankruptcy.
This is part of the reason people should be supporting the G-20 Protest in Pittsburgh, PA (Sept. 24-25). Others reasons might include things regarding the bailouts of the banks (corporate socialism), the wars conducted by these powerful states, and the system of environmental destruction they preside over. My latest two blog posts deal with the protest (as does much of the current content on my Twitter page @NihiloZero), if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteCheers!