More Americans in Poverty in 2002, Census Study Show

[kskiska]

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 — The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.7 million last year and the median household income declined by 1.1 percent, the Census Bureau reported today. The worsening economic conditions fell heaviest on Midwesterners and nonwhites.

It was the second straight year of adverse changes in both poverty and income, the first two-year downturn since the early 1990's.

The data, results of the Census Bureau's annual Current Population Survey, the official barometer for measuring income and poverty rates, showed that lingering negative effects of the recent recession cut across a broad swath of the population.

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Asked about the census data, Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said, "The actions that we've taken to boost the economy and to create jobs are essential to turn this around."

At his daily press briefing, Mr. McClellan, rather than focusing on the census data, pointed instead to newly released figures from the Commerce Department that showed a bigger-than-expected rise in the gross domestic product.

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This year the bureau scheduled the release for a Friday, the first time it has done so, and moved the news conference from the centrally located press club to the bureau's suburban headquarters in Suitland, Md. The switch prompted some advocates and lawmakers to speculate that the government agency had been pressured by the administration to move the date and place so that that the results, which most people expected to be worse than they were last year, would generate less attention in the weekend news cycle.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/27/national/27POVE.html?hp

[DieboldMustDie]

1. Did you notice that...

"The poverty threshold for a family of four is $18,392." I would consider that a bare minimum for an individual, nevermind a family.