Where can I find poverty rates as percentage of pop. under Reagan

[mistertrickster]

BushI, Clinton, BushII ? Like in a graph form or year by year.

Not having any luck googling, and I'm trying to refute this OReilly BULLSHIT--

"In 1996, the poverty level in the USA stood at 13.7%. In 2004, the poverty level was 12.7%, so Bush beats Clinton here by a full percentage point. To be fair, Clinton did bring the poverty rate down during his administration, while it has been rising slightly since 9/11. But at the halfway point, Bush wins."

That's because Clinton was handed a much HIGHER poverty rate by Bush I. But I need to find what it was . . .

[mirandapriestly]

1. Media Matters deals with the issue

http://mediamatters.org/
but, sorry, I don't know where graphs are

On his nationally syndicated radio show, The Radio Factor, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly again compared the poverty rate at the midpoint of both the Clinton and George W. Bush presidencies to argue that Bush has more effectively alleviated poverty in the United States. Ignoring the overall trend lines during their respective White House tenures, O'Reilly claimed that comparing the 1996 and 2004 numbers is the "only fair comparison" and the "only accurate measuring stick." But as Media Matters for America has noted -- and as Radio Factor caller "Larry" repeated -- such a comparison obscures the more relevant fact that the poverty rate declined every year of the Clinton presidency and has increased every year under the Bush presidency
-more-

[SteppingRazor]

2. Under Clinton, poverty dropped from 15.1 to 11.8 percent:

Since Congress passed President Clinton’s Economic Plan in 1993, the poverty rate declined from 15.1 percent to 11.8 percent last year — the largest six-year drop in poverty in nearly 30 years. There are now 7 million fewer people in poverty than in 1993. The child poverty rate declined more than 25 percent, the poverty rates for single mothers, African Americans and the elderly have dropped to their lowest levels on record, and Hispanic poverty dropped to its lowest level since 1979.

http://clinton5.nara.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-01.html


On edit: It should be pointed out that the poverty rate, really, has hovered around 12-14 percent since LBJ's War on Poverty -- before that, it was in the low 20s.

[bloom]

3. See:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty04/pov04fig03.pdf

http://www.sweetjesusihatebilloreilly.com/archive/091405.html

[Another Bill C.]

4. Census information

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov2.html

[mistertrickster]

5. Okay, great, thanks all

NT

[lindisfarne]

6. Another thing to consider is what income levels were used to determine

"poverty". Those have been manipulated over the years - there'd be more people living in poverty if the poverty cut-off line had kept up with inflation over the years (as well as if it had taken into account that what families pay for insurance now is a bigger chunk of their income).