A Poor America

The key question to ask when an incumbent president is running for office: Are you better off than you were four years ago? If that question is asked this time around, Obama is in a whole heap of trouble. His "spread the wealth" policy has become in reality "spread the poverty".

Read from Weasel Zippers:

Hope And Change: Census Shows 1 In 2 Americans Are Poor or Low-Income…

"Americans wanted change and change is what we got.


WASHINGTON (AP) — 'Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.

“Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too ‘rich’ to qualify,” said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.

Mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold — roughly $45,000 for a family of four — because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family’s income.'


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