NOTE TO CCHD DIRECTORS
The U.S. Census Bureau released 2008 poverty figures earlier this month. The bottom line is that poverty rose, median income declined and employer-based health insurance continued to weaken in 2008*. Here are the figures that may be helpful to you as you educate Catholics about the reality of poverty in the United States:
The number of Americans living in poverty reached 39.8 million, the highest since 1960.
The percentage of people living in poverty rose from 12.5% to 13.2%, the highest rate
since 1997.
Deep poverty (the level where cash incomes fall below half of the poverty line) reached
17.1 million or 5.7% of Americans, the highest point in 14 years.
Child poverty rose to 19%, meaning that nearly one in 5 children live below the poverty
line.
Median household income declined 3.6% in 2008, the lowest since 1997.
The weighted average poverty threshold was $22,035 for a family of 4; $17,163 for a
family of 3; $14,051 for a family of 2; and $10,991 for individuals.
Employer-based health insurance has been declining since 2001. It did not lead to an
increase in the overall percentage of people without insurance because that was offset
by an expansion of public insurance programs such as, Medicaid or temporary COBRA
subsidies for formerly employed workers. Yet, the number of people who are
uninsured jumped by 682,000, and reached 46.3 million.
For more information visit www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/014227.html
*Source: U.S. Census Bureau News (September 10, 2009) and Center on Budget and
Policy Priorities (September 10, 2009)