Poverty continues to rise in U.S., now 15.1%

Last Updated 12:57 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- The number of people in the U.S. living in poverty in 2010 rose for the fourth year in a row, representing the largest number of Americans in poverty in the 52 years since such estimates have been published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Median household income in the U.S. also declined.

The latest census data highlights the struggling U.S. economy, which has seen unemployment hover at around 9 percent for two years, and which will be a key campaign issue heading into the 2012 election season.

According to a report issued Tuesday, 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009. Data in the Census Bureau covers the first full calendar year following the December 2007-June 2009 recession.

MoneyWatch: Poverty report shows more households "Doubling Up"

The nation's official poverty rate increased for the third year in a row - 15.1 percent in 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 2009. In the last three years, the poverty rate has risen faster than any other three-year period since the early 1980s.

Real median household income in the United States also fell in 2010, to $49,445 (a 2.3 percent drop from 2009).

The number of people without health insurance coverage rose to 16.3 percent, or 49.9 million, from 16.1 percent a year ago. The jump was mostly due to decreases in employe-provided insurance.

Bruce Meyer, a public policy professor at the University of Chicago, told the Associated Press that the numbers may get even worse, pointing to rising demand for food stamps and a "staggeringly high" level of long-term unemployment - those out of work for more than 26 weeks.

Census Bureau report:

• Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in U.S.: 2010 (pdf)

Among the other findings:

• Child poverty rose to 22 percent, from 20.7 percent.
• Poverty among seniors remained unchanged at 9 percent
• Poverty levels rose across all racial and ethnic groups except Asians, which remained at 12.1 percent. Poverty among Hispanics increased to 26.6 percent; among blacks it rose to 27.4 percent; among whites it climbed to 9.9 percent.
• Households in the Midwest, South and West experienced declines in real median income between 2009 and 2010, while median household income in the Northeast was not statistically significant.
• In 2010, the number of families living in poverty was 9.2 million, up from 8.8 million in 2009. The family poverty rate also increased, from 11.1 percent in 2009 to 11.7 percent.
• There were also increases in the poverty rate / the number in poverty for both married-couple families (6.2 percent / 3.6 million in 2010, up from 5.8 percent / 3.4 million in 2009), and for female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (31.6 percent / 4.7 million in 2010, up from 29.9 percent / 4.4 million in 2009).
• Since 2007 - when the '07-'09 recession began - the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points. Although the 2010 rate is 7.3 percentage points lower than in 1959 when the rate was first estimated, it is its highest since 1993.
• The change in income inequality between 2009 and 2010 was not statistically significant, although shares of aggregate household income by quintiles showed a slight shift to increased inequality.
• Women's earnings for full-time, year-round work in 2010 were 77 percent that for men - not statistically different from the 2009 ratio.

Left behind in America: Who's to blame for the wealth divide?

[marisadane]

The evil devils that run the world are pushing this agenda, (not necessiarily the polititians) dont let them suceed, I'm sure these devils are the richest ones on the earth, the power behind the power we are not allowed to see.

[Hadenoughuc]

thats because all the monies go to the top a holes in the corporations and there lavish vaction packages and bonuses and no one else has monies to spend.

[_MrMike]

Go ahead, Put more republicans in office. The numbers will shoot through the stratosphere.......

[Ceres6]

On the other side of the coin we have the CEOs and executives of American corporations making countless millions of dollars in obscene and undeserved salaries every year. For instance, the CEO and executives of Florida Power and Light, which is known as FPL, are grabbing so much money for themselves that they don't want the Florida residents to know how much money they make. In fact, they are so depraved that their lawyers went to court a few years ago, and as a result of that, the people in Florida are prohibited from finding out what are the salaries they are making. Many people are not surprised if the salary of the FPL CEO is more than $100 million per year. The same as the greedy executives in many other corporations, they don't care if 50 million Americans are destitute or if they don't have money to pay their electric bills. The only thing important is for them to make millions of dollars and live in luxury as emperors. The American dream is only for them, and for nobody else. Right now we are living the sinister side of capitalism.

[coriolana]

Don't worry. The Teabags' darlings will make sure that all the poor die within the next four years. Nice to know which party is the one with the death panels.

[EDC99353]

I'm a navy vet, disabled, worked hard, made and saved a lot, became very ill, wife stole my life savings, then I was treated like I was a bad guy! I don't drink,smoke,never used drugs and took care of my self, then acute pain set in from my injury and they could not figure out the problem so the next thing was to bad just live with it! I mean pain was severe! No one believed me, I was given about 20% of the meds needed! Doctors where getting rich by not helping or even trying to help, this want things worse, I took a shower once a week, only got out of bed for doctors, then I nearly died, I was a healthy active 42 year old! I can't get pain meds that I need because the DEA says some people misuse drugs? Some people misuse a automobile, I offered to be drug tested every day, answer NO!, unable to care for myself had to move into my sisters where I was treated like a 3 year old. I guess I could have bought drugs on the street, but I have nevr done such a thing! WHY is this my only option? How is this good for me? or good for America? YES, doctors and drug companies made millions, but couldn't we be using our time better? Maybe do a nerve conductivity test? Help more sick people, get me back to work so a can pay taxes instead of relying on my SSDI. HEALTH CARE IS BROKE, DEA IS BROKE, People should be in jail for our US TRADE policies. The US has done and knows how to do things right! Do we really want to want for another HITLER to get us out of our hard times?

[realidad-2009]

Income inequality Grew massively since 2000 under George W Bush.

According to Harvard Magazine, 66% of 2001-2007's income growth went to the top 1% of Americans, while the other 99% of the population got a measly 6% increase. How is this possible?

One thing to consider is that in 2001, George W. Bush cut $1.3 trillion in taxes, and 32.6% of the cut went to the top 1%.. Today, 50 percent of all Capital Gains go to top 0.1 percent of Income, 37 percent to next 4.9 percent, and 10 percent to next 15 percent cupon clippers who get their Income from Investments... Not Work!

Another factor is Bush's decision to increase the national debt from $5 trillion to $11 trillion, with nary a comment from Republican in Congress . The combination of increased government spending and lower taxes helped the top 1% considerably. Then Bush and Cheney started two wars.... "Outside of the Federal Budget:..... which continue today 10 years later. No wonder U. S. is BROKE!

The second part of the con was George Bush & Dick Cheney's "Deregulation and Lack of Financial Enforcement" to mask much of the Power Elites', his "Haves and Have Mores", income streams behind tax shelters and other gaming-of-the-system so the advertised rate appears high to the peasantry but the effective rate paid on total income is much much lower.

The tax shelters are so numerous and so effective that it takes thousands of pages of tax codes and armies of toadies to pursue them all: family trusts, oil depletion allowances, tax-free bonds and of course special one-off tax breaks arranged by "captured" elected officials.

Now the Five Republican "front-runners" ... say "They want to eliminate Capital Gains Tax and Tax on all Dividends"?

[msimamaji]

Since the GOP are so Christian, I figured I'd share one of my favorite Bible verses:

"Woe to you who legislate evil, who pass laws that make victims -- laws that bring misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you?" (Isaiah 10:1-3)

Right now, the GOP in Congress is blocking Obama's Jobs Bill because it means more taxes to the rich. What did Jesus have to say to the rich - "Sell all you have and give to the poor."

To be sure, the GOP can fool the media, they might even fool enough people into voting for them. But they can't fool God. And God is watching every word they say.

[Zann-Zel]

But Robin Hood fought in the Crusades! Of course he was a Christian! : )

[_MrMike]

Republicans will have an easier time passing through the eye of a needle than they will entering the Kingdom of Heaven......

[ssporleder]

If we would stop pandering to ILLEGAL immigrants and send them packing, Americans WOULD be glad to take those jobs that some people think we would not want.


Some of those jobs may even have benefits so they could get out of the welfare system.


Americans have pride, whereas clearly ILLEGAL immigrants do not, as they seem quite fine squatting here and taking resources for free that SHOULD be OURS.


ILLEGALS that get most everything for FREE are a huge drain on America ~ would someone please grow a pair and DO something?

[freeb22]

You are wrong. The illegals are the only ones willing to work for practically nothing. And the vast majority of the jobs currently being created pay just that.

Even if I agreed with you, can you imagine what it would cost us to physically remove ALL illegals? The cost would be staggering.

Lets say all illegals magically disappeared. The first thing that would happen is sales tax collections would plummet. Then, the FEW Americans willing to pick up those jobs would still need government assistance because those jobs do not pay a living wage, unless your willing to live like they do, which I would not wish on anybody. The economy would be severely impacted, at least in the short term. And in the long term would be no better than it is now.

I am not defending these people. I believe immigration law should be enforced. My point is that getting rid of illegals is not the panacea you make it out to be.

[msimamaji]

I am not surprised. First we have massive unemployment. Second, corporations are using the high unemployment rate to slash wages and fringe benefits.
President Obama introduced a Jobs Now Act that would address some of these problems, but the GOP is going to block it.

The GOP wants high unemployment. They want tax cuts for the rich, low wage jobs for every one else. They want a society with 98% rich and everyone else poor. Bear in mind your job is not safe. Corporations can either off-shore your job or import "guest workers" who will work for pennies.

So remember that in 2012. The Republicans are for the rich and greedy. The Democrats are for the needy.