poverty

How Many People are Poor in the United States?

It seems the entire world has been confused by the Census and understandable so. This past week saw dueling quotes on the number of people in poverty in the press. There are actually two major measures of poverty for 2010 and the experimental, research measure was released this week. This supplemental poverty measure shows there are more people in poverty, 49.1 million, than the official tally, 46.2 million.

The Real America

If you watch most media you'd never guess what's the real America. From television shows where minimum wage jobs pay rent on $2000 a month flats, to families who never seem to run out of money or get foreclosed on, to messages of if only you follow some green line you'll have enough money for retirement, a never ending weave of fiction is spun. Like prey in the spider's web of tall tales, we're stunned and hypnotized into no longer seeing the poverty and despair all around us.

We're All Poor Now

The Census Bureau has released their alternative measure for poverty research and boy it's a doozie. The official 2010 poverty measure results in 46.2 people, or 15.1% living in poverty in the United States. The alternative measure gives 49.1 million or 16% of all people living in the United States are in poverty. The population in 2010 was 306.1 million. The actual gross income threshold levels are still low.

46.2 Million People in Poverty for 2010

The Census released a comprehensive report on poverty, income and health insurance coverage in the United States for 2010. There were 46.18 million people living in poverty, in the United States. The Census population for 2010 was 305,688,000. This means that 15.1% of people in the United States are below the poverty thresholds, or one in 6.6 people.

 

The Money Party on the Road to Ruin

Michael Collins
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The Money Party is destroying the United States. For ten years, there have been no new jobs with flat income. Unemployment and poverty are making a big comeback. The party consists of those who own and control concentrations of great wealth and the select few who serve them (their Mandarins). Based on the efficiency of the demolition job, you have to wonder, is this is by design? If greed, ignorance, and paranoia constitute a plan, then they are master planners. (Image)

Look at the glaring problems below. Then ask yourself, has there been one single program implemented to address any of these problems, just one? Our elected representatives enable the relentless process of driving down the United States. They bicker and fume at the edge of issues. However, when it comes to neglecting the real needs of citizens and the country, they are as one. All rewards and resources flow to their patrons and owners, the made men and women of The Money Party. We are nothing to them.

Beyond Protection vs. Liberalization - Thinking Historically About Trade and Policy

Note: this is a cross-post from The Realignment Project. Follow us on Facebook!

Introduction:

In about two years of blogging at TRP (and another two years’ policy-blogging elsewhere), I’ve never discussed trade. It’s not because it’s unimportant, because trade is clearly a major issue within economic policy and politics, but rather because of when I came of age politically. In 2001 student politics, the free trade vs. anti-globalization/protectionism debate seemed remarkably deadlocked and somewhat sterile. Twin camps of policy contenders required allegiance with either side, and I found myself unhappy with the analysis and debate and more drawn to questions of domestic economic policy.

However, in the wake of the Great Recession and the increasingly-urgent need to reassess the structure of the U.S economy, I can’t avoid it any longer. The trade question isn’t the whole of our economic problems, I think it can be exaggerated in a way that obscures a more important class conflict inside nations. And yet, the global balance of trade – between Germany and the rest of Europe, between China and the U.S, and so on – is clearly out of whack.

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