On the Booming Economy
Posted on | February 24, 2007
Per McClatchy’s Washington Bureau, our economy is failing ever greater numbers of Americans:
WASHINGTON - The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation’s “haves” and “have-nots” continues to widen.
A McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 - half the federal poverty line - was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.
The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That’s 56 percent faster than the overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy’s review also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise in severely poor residents isn’t confined to large urban counties but extends to suburban and rural areas.
The plight of the severely poor is a distressing sidebar to an unusual economic expansion. Worker productivity has increased dramatically since the brief recession of 2001, but wages and job growth have lagged behind. At the same time, the share of national income going to corporate profits has dwarfed the amount going to wages and salaries. That helps explain why the median household income of working-age families, adjusted for inflation, has fallen for five straight years.
These and other factors have helped push 43 percent of the nation’s 37 million poor people into deep poverty - the highest rate since at least 1975.
These are the numbers your TV won’t tell you about. These are the people who don’t appear in magazines. Anyone who wants to brag about our free markets must first do some explaining.
Comments
3 Responses to “On the Booming Economy”
February 25th, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
The free marketeers have an “I got mine, if another person doesn’t, it’s his/her own fault.” mentality. Further, they do nothing other than demand tax cuts and characterize others who are in need of assistance through no fault of their own as “lazy”. The person who had a good paying manufacturing job that was outsourced and is permanently laid off is not to blame because he or she is in need of social programs.
The irony the theory that tech jobs are the cure for an ailing economy. Fact is that not many who are unemployed have the aptitude, skills, or interest necessary to obtain one, let alone the financial resources to earn the necessary certifications that employers demand.
And it is going to get MUCH worse before it gets better, if it gets better. Free marketers know they are members of an elite class and they are determined to stay that way at the expense of others, no matter how many get hurt in the process.
February 25th, 2007 @ 6:19 pm
That’s what I fear, Terri—I’m afraid of just how much worse we’ll let it get before we wise up and make some corrections. It’s high time for another New Deal, but as long as the media keep pretending that everything’s–swell–what’s–the–matter–with–you, we may remain content to let the robber barons rule.
February 25th, 2007 @ 10:48 pm
Thanks, John for saying that a New Deal is needed! I have said that same thing on a few other blogs and have been told “Wake up, the New Deal is over.” That is one reason why I no longer post on them.
On another note, have you ever read The Great Wealth Transfer by Paul Krugman? (He is an economist and an excellent writer–doesn’t overwhelm you with jargon and stats.) The link is to a great piece, but it is fairly long. (6 pages)