Spring Break
Down and out in the new Gilded Age
Chris Maisano
Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Ed-Op
- Page 1 of 2 next >
It may seem to some that our nation's economy has finally burst free of the malaise brought on by the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent recession it helped trigger. Indeed, President Bush took to Wall Street recently to proclaim, "When people across the world look at America's economy what they see is low inflation, low unemployment, and the fastest growth of any major industrialized nation. … The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the United States." In a sense, he is right. These are undoubtedly good times for the president's audience, a group of people who, in a more honest era, were widely referred to as the ruling class.
But below this patina of feel-good rhetoric and shiny statistics lies a dark and disturbing reality. As recently released studies have made painfully clear, the number of Americans who have fallen into severe and prolonged poverty has increased dramatically under the Bush administration. According to an analysis of 2005 census data by McClatchy Newspapers, the number of "severely poor" Americans - families of four making less than $9,903 or individuals making less than $5,080 annually - has increased by 26 percent during the period 2000-2005, to a total of 16 million persons. Indeed, this portion of our population has grown more than any other under the Bush administration.
Shockingly, most of those who find themselves in severe poverty hold full-time jobs, but simply do not make enough money to keep themselves and their families afloat. In addition to disproportionately affecting African Americans and other racial minorities, about one third of those in severe poverty are children under the age of 17. And in relative terms, the United States has higher poverty rates than any other industrialized nation in the world, while directing an incredibly small portion of its national wealth toward poverty relief. Only Mexico and Russia apportion less to fighting poverty.
Not surprisingly, record numbers of Americans are turning toward various forms of public assistance to supplement their pitifully low incomes. As a recent Associated Press report has shown, about 44 million Americans now rely on food stamps, Medicaid and other forms of aid in order to make ends meet. The so-called "welfare reform" of 1996 pushed by congressional Republicans and signed off on by Bill Clinton has not done much of anything to get people out of poverty and make them self-sufficient. This is totally impossible when the types of jobs people pushed off the welfare rolls are able to get pay poverty wages and offer either no or prohibitively expensive benefits.
But below this patina of feel-good rhetoric and shiny statistics lies a dark and disturbing reality. As recently released studies have made painfully clear, the number of Americans who have fallen into severe and prolonged poverty has increased dramatically under the Bush administration. According to an analysis of 2005 census data by McClatchy Newspapers, the number of "severely poor" Americans - families of four making less than $9,903 or individuals making less than $5,080 annually - has increased by 26 percent during the period 2000-2005, to a total of 16 million persons. Indeed, this portion of our population has grown more than any other under the Bush administration.
Shockingly, most of those who find themselves in severe poverty hold full-time jobs, but simply do not make enough money to keep themselves and their families afloat. In addition to disproportionately affecting African Americans and other racial minorities, about one third of those in severe poverty are children under the age of 17. And in relative terms, the United States has higher poverty rates than any other industrialized nation in the world, while directing an incredibly small portion of its national wealth toward poverty relief. Only Mexico and Russia apportion less to fighting poverty.
Not surprisingly, record numbers of Americans are turning toward various forms of public assistance to supplement their pitifully low incomes. As a recent Associated Press report has shown, about 44 million Americans now rely on food stamps, Medicaid and other forms of aid in order to make ends meet. The so-called "welfare reform" of 1996 pushed by congressional Republicans and signed off on by Bill Clinton has not done much of anything to get people out of poverty and make them self-sufficient. This is totally impossible when the types of jobs people pushed off the welfare rolls are able to get pay poverty wages and offer either no or prohibitively expensive benefits.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Barry Fox
posted 3/02/07 @ 12:32 PM EST
You indicate that of the 16 million people living in "severe poverty" work full time and make less than $5,080 per year. That translates to $2.44 per hour, which is below the federally mandated minimum wage. (Continued…)
kmk24
Ken
posted 3/02/07 @ 2:18 PM EST
Sweet Jesus Chris, what are you a philosophy major? Physical education? Your ignorance abounds in economics, history, statistics and the premise of individual rights. (Continued…)
Post a Comment