America is getting poorer.\u00a0 The U.S. government has just released a bunch of new statistics about poverty in America, and once again this year the news is not<\/strong> good.\u00a0 According to a special report from the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million Americans are now living in poverty.\u00a0 The number of those living in poverty in America has grown by 2.6 million in just the last 12 months, and that is the <\/span><\/span>largest increase<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>that we have ever seen since the U.S. government began calculating poverty figures back in 1959.\u00a0 Not only that, median household income has also fallen once again.\u00a0 In case you are keeping track, that makes three years in a row.\u00a0 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, median household income in the United States <\/span>dropped 2.3%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> in 2010 after accounting for inflation.\u00a0 Overall, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of <\/span><\/span>6.8%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>once you account for inflation since December 2007.\u00a0 So should we be excited that our incomes are going down and that a record number of Americans slipped into poverty last year?\u00a0 Should we be thrilled that the economic pie is shrinking and that our debt levels are exploding?\u00a0 All of those that claimed that the U.S. economy was recovering and that everything was going to be just fine have some explaining to do.<\/span><\/p>\n Back in the year 2000, <\/span>11.3%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> of all Americans were living in poverty.\u00a0 Today, <\/span>15.1%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of all Americans are living in poverty.\u00a0 The last time the poverty level was this high was back in 1993.<\/span><\/p>\n However, it is important to keep in mind that the government definition of poverty rises based on the rate of inflation.\u00a0 If inflation was still calculated the way that it was 30 or 40 years ago, the poverty line would be much, much higher and millions more Americans would be considered to be living in poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n So why is poverty in America exploding?\u00a0 Who is getting hurt the most?\u00a0 How is America being changed by this?\u00a0 What is the future going to look like if we remain on the current path?<\/span><\/p>\n Let’s take a closer look at poverty in America….<\/span><\/p>\n Unemployment is rampant and the number of good jobs continues to shrink.\u00a0 Once upon a time in America, if you really wanted a job you could go out and get one.\u00a0 Today, competition for even the lowest paying jobs has become absolutely brutal.\u00a0 There simply are not enough chairs at the “economic table”, and not being able to get a good job is pushing large numbers of Americans into poverty…..<\/span><\/p>\n *There are fewer payroll jobs in the United States today <\/span>than there were back in 2000<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>even though we have added 30 million people to the population since then.<\/span><\/p>\n *Back in 1969, 95 percent of all men between the ages of 25 and 54 had a job.\u00a0 In July, only <\/span>81.2 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of men in that age group had a job.<\/span><\/p>\n *If you gathered together all of the unemployed people in the United States, they would constitute\u00a0<\/span>the 68th largest country in the world<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n *According to John Williams of <\/span>shadowstats.com<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, if you factored in all of the short-term discouraged workers, all of the long-term discouraged workers and all of those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment, the real unemployment rate right now would be approximately <\/span><\/span>23 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n *If you have been unemployed for at least one year, there is a <\/span>91 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>chance that you will not find a new job within the next month.<\/span><\/p>\n The number of low income jobs is rising while the number of high income jobs is falling.\u00a0 This has created a situation where the number of “the working poor” in America is absolutely skyrocketing.\u00a0 Millions of Americans are working as hard as they can and yet they still cannot afford to lead a middle class lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n *Since the year 2000, <\/span>we have lost approximately 10%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of our middle class jobs.\u00a0 In the year 2000 there were about 72 million middle class jobs in the United States but today there are only about 65 million middle class jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n *Back in 1980, <\/span><\/span>less than 30%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs.\u00a0 Today, <\/span>more than 40%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.<\/span><\/p>\n *Between 1969 and 2009, the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 dropped <\/span>by 27 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>after you account for inflation.<\/span><\/p>\n *According <\/span>to a report released in February<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>from the National Employment Law Project, higher wage industries are accounting for 40 percent of the job losses in America but only 14 percent of the job growth.\u00a0 Lower wage industries are accounting for just 23 percent of the job losses but 49 percent of the job growth.<\/span><\/p>\n *Half of all American workers now earn\u00a0<\/span><\/span>$505 or less<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>per week.<\/span><\/p>\n *Last year, <\/span>19.7%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of all U.S. working adults had jobs that would not have been enough to push a family of four over the poverty line even if they had worked full-time hours for the entire year.<\/span><\/p>\n *The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased <\/span><\/span>by 46%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> since 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n Because they cannot get good jobs that will enable them to support themselves and their families, millions of Americans that used to be hard working contributors to society are now dependent on government handouts.\u00a0 Nearly every single measure of government dependence is at a record high, and there are no signs that things are going to turn around any time soon.<\/span><\/p>\n *One out of every six Americans is now enrolled <\/span>in at least one<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>government anti-poverty program.<\/span><\/p>\n *Nearly <\/span>10 million<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>Americans now receive unemployment benefits.\u00a0 That number is almost four times larger than it was back in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n *More than <\/span>45 million<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>Americans are now on food stamps.\u00a0 The number of Americans on food stamps <\/span><\/span>has increased 74%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> since 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n *Approximately <\/span>one-third<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of the entire population of Alabama is now on food stamps.<\/span><\/p>\n *More than <\/span>50 million<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>Americans are now on Medicaid.<\/span><\/p>\n *Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid.\u00a0 Today, <\/span>approximately one out of every 6<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>Americans is on Medicaid.<\/span><\/p>\n *In 1980, just 11.7% of all personal income came from government transfer payments.\u00a0 Today, <\/span><\/span>18.4%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of all personal income comes from government transfer payments.<\/span><\/p>\n Millions of American families are being financially crippled by health care costs.\u00a0 The U.S. health care system <\/span>is deeply, deeply broken<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>and Obamacare is going to make things even worse.\u00a0 Health care is one of the top reasons why American families get pushed into poverty.\u00a0 Most of us are just one major illness or disease from becoming financially wrecked.\u00a0 Just ask anyone that has gone through it.\u00a0 The health insurance companies do not care about you and they will try to wiggle out of their obligations at the time when you need them the most.\u00a0 If you talk to people that have been through bankruptcy, most of them will tell you that medical bills were at least partially responsible.<\/span><\/p>\n *In America today, there are <\/span>49.9 million Americans<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>that do not have any health insurance.\u00a0 One single medical bill could easily wipe out the finances of most of those people.<\/span><\/p>\n *Only <\/span>56 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of Americans are currently covered by employer-provided health insurance.<\/span><\/p>\n *According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in <\/span>more than 60 percent<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span>of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.\u00a0 Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, approximately 75 percent of them involved individuals that actually did have health insurance.<\/span><\/p>\n *According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980.\u00a0 Today they account for approximately <\/span>16.3%<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The United States has a child poverty rate that is more than twice as high as many European nations.\u00a0 We like to think that we have “the greatest economy on earth”, but the reality is that we have one of the highest child poverty rates and it increased once again last year.<\/span><\/p>\n *The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to <\/span>22%<\/span><\/strong><\/a> in 2010.\u00a0 That means that tonight more than one out of every five U.S. children is living in poverty.<\/span><\/p>\n *The poverty rate for U.S. adults is only <\/span>13.7%<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Shrinking Number Of Jobs<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Working Poor<\/span><\/h3>\n
Unprecedented Dependence On The Government<\/span><\/h3>\n
The Suffocating Cost Of Health <\/span><\/span>Care<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
More Children Living In Poverty<\/span><\/h3>\n