Articles

Census Says Poverty Rate Rises
for 4th Straight Year

By Eunice Moscoso
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
August 31, 2005

The nation's poverty rate increased for the fourth year in a row from 12.5 percent in 2003 to 12.7 percent in 2004, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

In addition, the number of people without health insurance increased by 800,000 during that time, although the percentage of uninsured remained the same at 15.7 percent.

The report also shows that the rise in poverty rate was propelled by increasing poverty among whites and that the South continues to have the highest poverty rate in the nation, 14.1 percent. By comparison, the West has a poverty rate of 12.6 percent and the Northeast and Midwest have poverty rates of 11.6 percent.

Household incomes remained steady in all parts of the country except the Midwest, where they dropped nearly 3 percent, the report said.

Charles Nelson, an assistant division chief at the Census Bureau, said that the increase in the nation's poverty rate is similar to what happened in the early 1990s, when an end to a recession was followed by several years of rising poverty rates. He also said that the numbers do not reflect improvements in the economy in 2005.

Sheldon Danziger, co-director of the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, said the numbers are reflective of a long-term trend. "There has not been much progress against poverty over the last three decades. Poverty rates were in the 11 to 12 percent range from 1969 to 1979," he said.

The Census Bureau also released a report on income and poverty in states, counties and large cities. Georgia was one of 12 Southern states with poverty rates higher than the national average. In 2004, the state had a poverty rate of 14.8 percent, which means that about 1.2 million people live in poverty, according to the report.

The bureau also found that Atlanta has a 27.8 percent poverty rate, among the highest for cities of at least 250,000.

Nationally, the poverty rate increased for people 18 to 64 years old – from 10.8 percent in 2003 to 11.3 percent in 2004, but declined for those age 65 and older – from 10.2 percent to 9.8 percent, the bureau said.

In addition, the report found that in 2004, Asian households had the highest median income among racial groups – $57,518 – and black households had the lowest – $30,134. The median income for white households was $48,977, and the median income of Hispanic households was $34,241.

Democrats said the numbers prove the nation is heading in the wrong direction.

"Just as the president and his Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill are trying to slash Medicaid, today's report demonstrates that fewer Americans can rely on employer-based health care coverage and Medicaid is growing in importance for millions. ... We should be working to address the rising cost of health care, not cutting the bottom out from under our families," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Administration officials said that the president's economic policies are working, noting 26 consecutive months of job growth. "More than 2.2 million jobs have been created over the past 12 months, and that is a very healthy economic growth," said Dan Nelson, spokesman for the Department of Commerce.

Copyright 2005 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more information, visit www.ajc.com.

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