Stalin
Well-Known Member
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- Apr 4, 2008
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Since the onset of the economic crisis, millions of working class families have fallen into deep financial distress. The younger generation has been particularly hard hit by unemployment, the housing crisis and debt.
Government data indicate that more than one in three young families with children were living in poverty in the US in 2010, the highest rate ever recorded. At the same time that families are financially strained, assistance programs for the poor have been cut and eligibility rules tightened.
A new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University found that 37.3 percent of households headed by a parent under age 30 were impoverished last year.
Poverty among these young households has surged by 12 percent over the past decade, surpassing the previous peak of 36 percent in 1993 and far eclipsing the 14 percent recorded in 1967, when the government began tracking family poverty figures. Since 2007, poverty across all age groups has leapt upward, to include 46.2 million people. (See, “America: The land of poverty”)
Official measures of poverty grossly understate its scope and depth. Many advocacy groups have pointed out that 200 percent of the official poverty threshold—which would be $44,000 for a family of four—is a more realistic measure of the bare minimum costs of raising a family. Across all age groups, the number of people earning less than twice the poverty line stood at 103 million in 2010, about one in three Americans.
The Northeastern study found that along with the swelling ranks of the poor—defined at a woefully inadequate $22,000 per year for a family of four and $11,000 for an individual—millions more have fallen into the classifications of “near poor” (125 percent of poverty) and “low income” (below 200 percent of poverty).
Among young families overall, the report found the number who were poor or near poor rose by nearly 10 percent from 2000 to 2010. More than half—51 percent—fell under the official “low income” threshold.
The report notes, “Among young families with children residing in the home, 4 of every 9 were poor or near poor and close to 2 out of 3 were low income in 2010.” In other words, the broad majority of young families across the country are struggling to meet the cost of basic needs.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/pove-s22.shtml
Comrade Stalin
Government data indicate that more than one in three young families with children were living in poverty in the US in 2010, the highest rate ever recorded. At the same time that families are financially strained, assistance programs for the poor have been cut and eligibility rules tightened.
A new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University found that 37.3 percent of households headed by a parent under age 30 were impoverished last year.
Poverty among these young households has surged by 12 percent over the past decade, surpassing the previous peak of 36 percent in 1993 and far eclipsing the 14 percent recorded in 1967, when the government began tracking family poverty figures. Since 2007, poverty across all age groups has leapt upward, to include 46.2 million people. (See, “America: The land of poverty”)
Official measures of poverty grossly understate its scope and depth. Many advocacy groups have pointed out that 200 percent of the official poverty threshold—which would be $44,000 for a family of four—is a more realistic measure of the bare minimum costs of raising a family. Across all age groups, the number of people earning less than twice the poverty line stood at 103 million in 2010, about one in three Americans.
The Northeastern study found that along with the swelling ranks of the poor—defined at a woefully inadequate $22,000 per year for a family of four and $11,000 for an individual—millions more have fallen into the classifications of “near poor” (125 percent of poverty) and “low income” (below 200 percent of poverty).
Among young families overall, the report found the number who were poor or near poor rose by nearly 10 percent from 2000 to 2010. More than half—51 percent—fell under the official “low income” threshold.
The report notes, “Among young families with children residing in the home, 4 of every 9 were poor or near poor and close to 2 out of 3 were low income in 2010.” In other words, the broad majority of young families across the country are struggling to meet the cost of basic needs.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/sep2011/pove-s22.shtml
Comrade Stalin
