Poverty Rates Continue to Rise for Blacks Under Bush - 9 Million in Poverty
/As George W. Bush and John F. Kerry debate who will do the most
to benefit the middle class, recently-released Census Bureau statistics
show that poverty decreased among African-Americans during the Clinton
Administration, but went back up during the first three years of the
Bush administration. In addition to the increase in poverty,
overall Census Bureau figures show that the number of uninsured
Americans rose to 45 million in 2003, up 1.4 million from 2002 when
43.6 million Americans were uninsured. In 2000, the year Bush was
elected, 39.8 million were uninsured. "The year 2003 marked the third
straight year that living standards have deteriorated, with poverty
increasing, the number of uninsured climbing, and the income of the
typical household stagnating," says Robert Greenstein, executive
director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
- "Poverty level" as defined by the Federal
government means any individual earning less than $9,573 per year or
a family of four earning less than $18,660 a year.
- According to Census tables, the percentage of African-Americans living below the poverty level was 33.4 percent (10.8 million) in 1992, the year Clinton was first elected president. By 2000, the year Bush was elected, that figure had dropped to 22.5 percent (7.9 million) -- a decrease of 10.9 percent.
- From 2000, however, the Black poverty rate increased from 22.5 percent to 23.9 percent in 2002 and 24.3 percent in 2003 (9.1 million).
- Overall, the number and percentage of people
living below the poverty line rose for the third conservative year. The
poverty rate -- the percentage of people who are poor -- rose from 11.7
percent in 2001, to 12.1 percent in 2002 and 12.5 percent in 2003,
according to the Census Bureau. [more
] and [more ] - Also see a new study conducted by UCLA: UCLA Study Projects Uncertain Future for African American Progress Despite Past Gains [more ]
- Employment Picture Dim For Minority Youth [more ]
