Grim numbers / Poverty continues to grow in Bush's America

[bufffbison]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05246/564865.stm

Editorial: Grim numbers / Poverty continues to grow in Bush's America
Saturday, September 03, 2005

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Census data released this week provide a snapshot into how America lived in 2004. The picture isn't pretty, particularly for those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Last year, the nation's poverty rate rose from 12.5 percent to 12.7. The Pittsburgh region was hit particularly hard: Pennsylvania was one of only seven states and Allegheny County was one of only five large counties in the nation to see significant increases in poverty. In the county, the rate jumped 2.1 percentage points to 11.1 percent (the number of poor people in the county increased by 7,000, while the county's total population decreased by about 48,000).

For those living above the poverty level, the situation wasn't that much better. Last year marked the fifth straight year that overall household incomes showed no increase over the previous year. It's the first time since the Census has been tracking this information that household income has failed to rise for five years in a row.

[Erika]

1. A tax cut to the wealthy is the answer

Just ask Bush. That's the key to economic success.