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The US Census Bureau released Latest Poverty Numbers today, Mark Shriver of US 's Save the Children Programs, reports Care for the Huffington Post the numbers are the Highest they have been in 50 years.
More in Depth Analysis was found in the LA Times, and how it effects so many families on so many levels.
( LA Times) "Reporting from Washington— In a grim portrait of a nation in economic turmoil, the government reported that the number of people living in poverty last year surged to 46.2 million — the most in at least half a century — as 1 million more Americans went without health insurance and household incomes fell sharply.The poverty rate for all Americans rose in 2010 for the third consecutive year, matching the 15.1% figure in 1993 and pushing many more young adults to double up or return to their parents' home to avoid joining the ranks of the poor. Taken together, the annual income and poverty snapshot released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau underscored how the recession is casting a long shadow well after its official end in June 2009."
It is important to note that this report also correlates with the Food Assistance ( Food Stamp ) Numbers of earlier this summer saying that 46.9 Million Americans are now receiving assistance and 1:4 Children are living in Poverty and also suffering Hunger. 24 Million Americans still searching for work, we should not be shocked by these numbers. We should be talking about the effects of this Economic Stress, and Poverty on our Children.
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Feeding America Responded to the New Census Data.
""Today the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1 percent in 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 -- the highest level since 1993. Poverty affects African Americans and Latinos at nearly triple the rate of non-Hispanic whites.
"This reported increase is not a surprise to Feeding America. We know that more and more people are seeking help to feed themselves and their families. Proof of this is that the Feeding America network of food banks distributed 3.1 billion pounds of food in 2010, an increase of 500 million pounds over 2009, when 2.6 billion pounds were distributed.
"It is important to note that just last week the USDA reported that in 2010, nearly 49 million Americans were food insecure, about the same rate reported for 2009. The fact that food insecurity has remained stable while poverty has increased proves that the current safety net, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is working. We must continue to protect our federal nutrition programs to meet the current rate of need."
Orland Sentinel has more about the UnInsured Numbers and also the actual statistics in Florida. ( We should all start looking at our State Statistics and see if they are on similar.) Below More Statistics from the Orlando Sentinel :
"More than 46.2 million Americans live in poverty — the highest number in the 52 years for which such estimates have been published, according to census figures released Tuesday. From 2009 to 2010, the nation's poor increased by 2.6 million, and the number of those without health insurance grew by nearly 1 million people.In Florida, 3.8 million people — more than one in five — were without health insurance last year. Nationwide, the number of uninsured was closer to one in six.Of those Americans not working, 28.5 percent were without health-care coverage — the same percentage as part-time workers. But even among those who worked full time, 15 percent were without insurance, the continuation of a trend that began a decade ago with rising insurance rates.Since 2001, the number of Americans with employer-provided insurance has declined from 179.9 million to 169.2 million. In some cases, employers stopped offering such coverage. But there are also employees who decided they could no longer afford the premiums."
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" If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. "~~
Mother Teresa
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