from the SD Peace and Justice Center:
The poverty rate in the United States is at 15.1%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage report. Â This means that 46.2 million people in the United States are in poverty, the largest number since the government began tracking poverty in the 1950s. Â In addition, the poverty rate for children is 22% and has only been higher three times since the mid-1960s. Â 49.9 million individuals in the U.S. lack health insurance. Â Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a very interesting opinion piece on the subject, and mentions the fact that the top 1% of Americans earn more than the bottom 50%.
The Argue Endorser also did an extensive story about poverty and the economy in South Dakota;
Figures released Tuesday show that 13.7 percent of South Dakotans are living below the federal poverty level. That puts the state marginally below national poverty levels of 14.2 percent but above neighboring states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Nebraska.
When over 10% of your population is living in poverty, you have to scratch your head a bit and wonder how long this recession is going to last. South Dakotans have always been known to be modest when it comes to income, and these numbers show that it only takes a little down tick to go from lower middle-class to flat out broke real quick. As MC from Dakota War College commented the other day on this site:
I find it odd….
The county is building a homeless shelter,
The city is building an events center.
Yeah, what ironic times we live in? Huh?