The Truth About Poverty in America, What You Need To Know!

The truth is out: four in five Americans are in a fight for economic survival. A new study by Mark Rank of Washington University shows that the majority of Americans have lost their jobs, been dependent on welfare, or faced poverty. However, contrary to what some people believe, poverty doesn’t discriminate. According to Rank’s study, poverty is a “mainstream event” that threatens the majority of Americans: “Poverty is no longer an issue of `them,’ it’s an issue of ‘us’.”
In 2011, almost 13% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 lived in poverty. Consider that in terms of risk of poverty over a lifetime and you’ll find that 4 in 10 adults land in poverty for at least one year during their lives. The risk of poverty has only increased over recent decades. For example, Americans aged 35 to 45 faced 17% risk of poverty from 1969 to 1989. From 1989 to 2009 the risk for that same age group grew to 23%. For ages 45 to 55 the risk of poverty grew almost 6%, escalating from 11.8% to 17.7%.
Poverty: The Equal-Opportunity Employer
Currently, the number of poor Americans across the nation is a record-breaking 46.2 million; that’s 15% of the American population. However, according to Rank’s study, it’s not just minorities who face poverty. The poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics are almost three times higher than whites but “by absolute numbers the predominant face of the poor is white.” The poverty line for a family of four is $23,021 and 19 million whites fall below that line, making up 41% of America’s poor. That’s almost twice the number of poor blacks.
Consider Buchanan County in Virginia. Based on median income, it’s one of America’s most impoverished counties. The county’s population is mostly white, but so are its poor. Almost one fourth of the county, 24%, fall below the poverty line, and 99% of those in poverty are white.
Rank doesn’t find this surprising, though. According to his analysis, more than 76% of whites will face economic insecurity by the time they’re 60. Regardless of race, 79% of all Americans will face the same insecurity. Based on current trends, that number will reach 85% by 2030. That means that the majority of Americans will face either joblessness, dependency on public assistance, or an income that’s below 150% of the poverty line. Surprised? Maybe you shouldn’t be.
Redirecting Our Focus
Let’s face it: there’s been a lot of talk about race lately and at the same time, President Obama has revived his administration’s focus on the economy, giving numerous speeches on the topic lately. But all of the talk is getting us nowhere. Instead, it seems to only cause greater division among us.
The truth of the matter is that economic turmoil no longer threatens only those who are uneducated (not that the education system seems to be focused on quality, anyway), born into it, or live on the other side of the tracks. It’s a threat to all Americans, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic class. In terms of poverty, the great divide is not between ethnic and social groups, it’s between the political, government and otherwise elites and the rest of us. They’ve created, and are perpetuating, a platform of society that functions to oppress all of us. The failing economy will not discriminate, and its blood is on the government’s hands. And in these conditions, we, the people, simply can’t afford be pointing fingers at one another and not scrutinizing the real cause of these issues: our government.The Plain Truth!