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45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line

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45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line: Census | HuffPost Impact Skip to Main ContentMain MenuNewsU.S. NewsWorld NewsBusinessEnvironmentHealthSocial JusticeCrimePoliticsJoe BidenCongressExtremismOpinionEntertainmentCulture & ArtsMediaCelebrityTV & FilmBooksLifeStyle & BeautyFood & DrinkParentingTravelWellnessRelationshipsMoneyHome & LivingWork/LifeShoppingVoicesBlack VoicesQueer VoicesLatino VoicesIndigenous VoicesAsian VoicesWomen's VoicesHuffPost PersonalVIDEOFor Our PartnersPremium TravelsPassion & PersistenceGo For GoldThe Good LifeHoroscopesNewslettersNEW: GamesInternationalU.S.U.K.EspañaFranceΕλλάδα (Greece)Italia日本 (Japan)한국 (Korea)Follow UsTerms | Privacy PolicyPart of HuffPost Business. ©2024 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.What's Hot Log InSupport UsNEWSPOLITICSENTERTAINMENTLIFEPERSONALVOICESSHOPPING🧩 NEW: GAMES 🧩BusinessBusinessIncome InequalityMedian income45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty Line: Census45 Million Americans Still Stuck Below Poverty LineBy Mark GongloffManaging Editor, Business and Tech, The Huffington PostSep 16, 2014, 10:23 AM EDTNEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: A homeless man is viewed in Penn Station on January 28, 2014 in New York City. Over 3,000 volunteers canvased parks, subways, bus stations and other public spaces early Tuesday morning as part of the New York City Department of Homeless Services annual Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE), where it tries to gain an accurate estimate of the city's homeless population. The study is part of the federally required Point-In-Time survey, which serves as a snapshot of how many are homeless on any given day in a community. The results are used to devise ways to both better understand the nation's homeless population and ways to assist them in getting off of the streets. According to a recent study by the by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, New York City's homeless population increased by 13 percent at the beginning of 2013. Despite an improving local economy, as of last January an estimated 64,060 homeless people were in shelters and on the street in New York. Only Los Angeles had a larger percentage increase than New York for large cities. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Despite five years of economic recovery, poverty is still stubbornly high in America.More than 45 million people, or 14.5 percent of all Americans, lived below the poverty line last year, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. The percentage of Americans in poverty fell from 15 percent in 2012, the biggest such decline since the year 2000. But the level of poverty is still higher than 12.3 percent in 2006, before the recession began. (Story continues after chart.)Advertisement Median household income barely budged last year, edging up to $51,939 from $51,759 in 2012, the Census Bureau noted separately. Median income is still far from the $56,436 in 2007 and the all-time high of $56,895 in 1999. (Story continues after chart.)In this regard, the typical American household has suffered from a lost decade, and then some, noted University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers. Stagnant income is a big reason why nearly half of all Americans think the recession is still going on, even though the National Bureau of Economic Research said it technically ended in June 2009. Poverty always surges after recessions, as millions of people lose their jobs and incomes. In past recessions, poverty retreated fairly quickly from its extremes once the economy began to recover. That has not been the case in the past few recoveries, noted the Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, a think tank focused on poverty and inequality:Advertisement One cause of this grim trend could be that U.S. policy makers have increasingly ignored the needs of the very poor. In the latest recovery, the Republican-controlled Congress has slashed billions from the government food-stamp program and ended extended unemployment benefits that were helping more than a million long-term unemployed people.These Census poverty numbers don't take into account government benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid. That could have a big effect on poverty levels. For example, if food-stamp benefits were counted as income, then about 3.7 million fewer people would be included in poverty, according to the Census Bureau.The annual income threshold for being counted as living in poverty was $11,490 last year for a person and $23,550 for a family of four.Support Free JournalismConsider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first.Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. W

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