California’s poverty rate the highest since 1997
By Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee
California’s poor now outnumber the populations of 33 states and 90 nations – and counting.
The state’s poverty rate last year rose to its highest level in more than a decade – 16.3 percent – as household incomes plunged by 5 percent, according to census figures released Tuesday.
The state lost ground much faster than the rest of the nation, which saw a roughly 2 percent decline in household income.
Nationally, about 15.1 percent of the population, or 46 million people, were poor last year, a higher poverty rate than in any year since 1993.
That incomes continue to decline and poverty increases didn’t surprise economists. But the magnitude of the changes did. California hasn’t seen a bigger year-to-year fall in household income in at least 25 years.
“We’re supposedly in recovery,” said Jeff Michael, an economist at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. “But we’ve been feeding at the bottom of the trough.”
Howard Roth, the state’s chief economist, noted that many of the states hit hardest by the housing bust saw the steepest income declines and largest poverty increases last year. Those states will likely continue to suffer, he said, until the housing industry recovers.
“It’s pretty clear that going forward, these income numbers are going to get smaller for a while,” Roth said.
In California, the median household income – the middle number in a ranked list of incomes – was $54,459 last year, down from an inflation-adjusted $57,061 in 2009 and the lowest level since 1997. California incomes peaked in 2006 at $59,821.
Nationwide, the median household income stood at $49,445 last year, down from $50,599 in 2009.
About 6.1 million Californians lived in poverty last year, an increase of nearly a half-million residents from the previous year and the highest rate since 1997.
How many of the poor are Americans? Were illegal aliens included in the count along with new legal immigrants whose relatives dumped them on the welfare system and, of course, the legal immigrants who came to this country dirt poor and continue to be dirt poor.
The desire of our country to self-destruct is alive and well and growing.
Turnip … Perhaps you are making yet another attempt at irony but you end up insulting hard working immigrants who want nothing more than a better life. Most of us “Americans” are lucky to have families that made the USA our home many generations ago. You?
JT,
My grandparents came here legally. They survived on their own, no welfare.
America had less than 100 million people back then and California had about 5 million inhabitants. America now has over 310 million people and CA is pushing
40 million.
There are 4-5 billion people who would like to come to America, the land of milk and honey.
How many do you want here?
BTW, there are millions and millions of
Americans out of work with millions and millions of legal and illegal immigrants who took their place.
One thing is missing from the name-calling. Firstly, no doubt that many are hurting, many are unemployed, and there are definitely serious problems. BUT, statistics are often warped, for obvious reasons.
Did any of you know that the ‘poverty level’ requirements have been changed over and over by the FEDERAL government?
Ever bothered to go find the official guidelines for “being poor”?
Did you know that even if you have several televisions including a nice big late model flat screen TV, two cars (could even be two $$$$ cars), high-speed internet…and a LONG LONG list of nice items (and, home ownership is EXcluded!), that you can still be classified as “poor”??
My wife and I live in a fairly decent house, no children live with us, we have no mortgage, no car payments (two older cars though), I have motorcycles, we live reasonably decent, good vacations, have good health care, etc…..but, since we have less than the official poverty line amount of EARNED INCOME, we are classified as POOR.
In any event, The Government can’t fix everything. But, it sure can screw things up, and HAS, over and over. Remember, it was the Government that changed the rules for banking and mortgages, that precipitated the financial system meltdown….because…’everyone deserves to own a home’…riiiight?…even if they have no chance of paying for it? Anyone remember how all this mess came about….government changes in requirements…let the banks go wild on what they can do….and then GREEEEEED steps in.
Disgustedly yours,
snowbum