Half of US poor or low-income

Posted by on January 16, 2012

Census: Half of US population poor or low-income

Amid persistently high unemployment, rising living costs, and stagnating wages, nearly half of Americans now rate as poor or low-income, according to the Associated Press.

New census data incorporating yardsticks recently implemented by the Census Bureau classify about 97.3 million Americans as low-income, defined as households earning up to twice the poverty level. They and the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line make up 48 percent of the U.S. population.

About 4 million more people fall into the poor or low-income categories than did in 2009. Sheldon Danziger, a poverty specialist at the University of Michigan, said the numbers are likely to rise as more people fall out of the middle class but “are considered too ‘rich’ to qualify” for social safety-net programs.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57343397/census-data-half-of-u.s-poor-or-low-income/