2008 Poverty Numbers Reveal a "Lost Decade."

Last year's data on poverty was released this morning by the Census Bureau, and it reveals a very bleak picture that won't be getting worse anytime soon. A few stats:

• The number of people living in poverty rose by 2.6 million, to 39.8 million people. That's the largest number of people since 1960 (and since Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty).
• The poverty rate increased to 13.2 percent, the highest since 1997; the child poverty rate increased to 19 percent, nearly one in five children.
• Median income is down $1860, which is also the lowest since 1997.
• The number of people without health insurance was 46.3 million; the percentage of the population remained unchanged, although according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities analysis, workers without coverage increased by 932,000 due to the increasing cost of employee-provided health insurance

Here's a statement from Bob Greenstein, CBPP's executive director, on the numbers. Speaking to reporters, he observed that current conditions are bound to be much worse due to the deteriorating economy, but he also referenced his organization's research that indicates the stimulus has had substantial effect amelioerating poverty conditions during the recession. But his most poignant observation was that in 2007, the median income was the same as it was during the 2001 recession -- essentially, though there was an economic recovery during the Bush administration, it failed to lift the general welfare, making the current recession even tougher for most families. I asked Greenstein to recommend two politically "easy" policy options to help deal with these depressing figures, and he suggested extending unemployment benefits when they are set to expire later on in the fall, given the still-challenging labor market and the the fact that these extensions have often occurred during past recessions. Second, he recommended further fiscal aid to states from the federal government at a mid-point between the aid they were given in the Obama stimulus and zero, which is what they are scheduled to receive in 2011. The state fiscal crisis is set to get even worse in the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years, and the necessary tax increases and budget cuts will not only have a counter-cyclical affect on the economy but will also contribute to unemployment and remove needed social services that help those in poverty.

-- Tim Fernholz