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Title: 'Number of poor hit record 46 million in 2010' Post by: Coach Hank Crisp on September 13, 2011, 10:42:44 AM http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/13/us-usa-economy-poverty-idUSTRE78C3YV20110913
Quote (Reuters) - The number of Americans living below the poverty line rose to a record 46.2 million last year as the U.S. economy struggled to recover from recession, the federal government said on Tuesday. In a report that underscores the daunting economic challenges facing President Barack Obama and Congress, the U.S. Census Bureau said the national poverty rate climbed for a third consecutive year. It rose 0.8 percent to 15.1 percent from 2009, when there were 43.6 million Americans living in poverty. The report said the number of poor Americans in 2010 was the largest in the 52 years that it has been publishing poverty estimates while the poverty rate was the highest since 1993. Median U.S. household income also fell 2.3 percent to an annual $49,445 while the number of Americans without health insurance hovered near the 50 million mark. |