Friday, August 27, 2004
More people in poverty, thanks Dubya!
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The number of poor Americans grew by 1.3 million last year, according to a sobering and politically sensitive Census Bureau report issued Thursday.
The increase marks the third straight year the impoverished population has grown. An estimated 35.9 million U.S. residents were living in poverty in 2003, compared with 31.6 million at the advent of George W. Bush's presidency.
That increase, and a similarly steady rise in the number of Americans without health insurance, immediately cast the otherwise-dry Census Bureau statistics into the white heat of the presidential campaign.
"Today confirms the failure of President Bush's policies for all Americans," Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry declared while campaigning in Anoka, Minn. "While George Bush tries to convince America's families that we're turning the corner, slogans and empty rhetoric can't hide the real story."
While campaigning Thursday in New Mexico, President Bush avoided making specific reference to the latest poverty findings, citing instead more positive economic developments.
"Because we acted, the people of this country are working," Bush said, adding that "there's more work to be done."
For a family of four, the federal government pegs the annual income poverty threshold at $18,810. Last year, the new report estimated, 12.5 percent of Americans were considered poor. This was up from 12.1 percent the year before, though still lower than the poverty rates during parts of the 1980s and 1990s.
California's average poverty rate of 12.9 percent over the past three years was slightly above the national average.
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