Poverty in America

A report published by the World Bank in August 2008, indicated that there has been no major global poverty reduction in the last couple of decades except in case of China, where poverty rate plummeted from 85% to 16% (approx.). In fact, if China is not counted, poverty across the globe fell only by 10%, which is shocking. While it's a commonly established fact that African and Asian countries have been dealing with poverty since they became independent, the wealthiest and affluent nations, like America, also have faced poverty issues, although it may be lesser in intensity than other countries. Poverty in America is now an issue that has gained lot of media attention as the economic recession since January 2008 has caused major turmoil in the US economy structure.

The unrest among US citizens is justified as US is facing numerous challenging issues, one of the central issue being the rising unemployment rate over the recent past years. The Obama administration is injecting billions of dollars as bail out packages into the national economy but scholars seem to be at daggers drawn over formulation of policies and steps taken to alleviate poverty. Numbers, data and statistics speak volumes about the situation. Here is a compilation of some facts about poverty in America.

Poverty in America - Statistics

It's no denying the fact that poverty in the United States has always been in existence although it may not be highlighted by the world media like it is done for developing countries. In fact, poverty is a global issue, not restricted to only developing countries. Debating on causes of poverty in America demands some scholarly aptitude about concepts of economy, capitalism and the recession in US economy. While I skip the burning issue of what is causing poverty in the United States, I attempt to present some facts and statistics related to enlighten readers on this subject. The data presented in this article has been fetched from the U.S. Census Bureau official website, that released census figures for 2009, in September 2010. Some facts, information and data has also been picked from several renowned business magazines and websites dedicated to fact finding, like the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

• The poverty rate soared from 13.2% in 2008 to 15%, in 2009, the largest increase ever since the year 1959 when the US government started calculating poverty figures.
• The number of Americans living in poverty in 2009 was 45 million.
• One out of every seven Americans is living under the official established criteria for below poverty line.
• Child poverty is on a high. One in every five children is living in poverty, struggling to meet basic requirements.
• It has been estimated that nearly 100 million Americans are going through some sort of economic distress.
• The unemployment and underemployment rate in the US has been 17% in the year 2009.
• A poverty rate of 15% was not even experienced in the double digit inflation years of 1980s.
• Metropolis like Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Florida have shown the largest increase in poverty rates.
• Number of homeless seeking shelters has increased from 131,000 in 2008 to 170,000 in 2009.
• Detroit has seen a disastrous unemployment rate of 50% due to shutting down of factories and lay offs. News reporters claim this to be a reminiscent of the Great Depression of 1929-1930, when people were in line to receive food grains and eatables.
• As per OECD, US is 3rd worst in list of poverty in developed nations.
• Food stamp program, that aims to help millions struggling for bread and butter, has seen an unprecedented rise in the last year, with the household participation in such programs increasing to nearly 21%.
• For 19 continuous months till June 2010, the highest number of Americans registered for food stamp programs.
• The health care program Medicaid, that is fundamentally designed to help poor people, saw nearly 50 million Americans registering for it, within a period of one year.
• Overall, nearly 10 million Americans are receiving unemployment insurance, that is four times more than those mentioned in the statistics of 2007.
• At least one member of nearly 28% US families is searching for a full-time job.
• In a year, the percentage of bankruptcy filings have risen to 20% in the US.

This was just a glimpse of poverty in America in these times of economic slowdown that is on a path of recovery. Back in 1959, the poverty rate in US was 22.4% (highest ever). Due to postwar economic boom and quality reforms of 1960s, the poverty rate plummeted to 11% in 1973. Since then, the poverty rate has been oscillating between 12-14 percent, until last year's sharp rise to 15%. The US now stands at a critical junction where social, economical and political gulf in society seems to be widening with every passing day. Under the dynamic leadership of President Barack Obama, who is spearheading the US towards yet another 'American dream', only time will tell if poverty in America is eradicated to the core, or at least put to a significant check.