BEYOND THE NUMBERS
A Close Look at the New Census Numbers
We’ve just issued our detailed analysis of the 2010 data on poverty, incomes, and health coverage. It begins:
Driven by the persistent weakness in the economy, the poverty rate in 2010 reached its second-highest point since 1965, median income declined, and the number and percentage of Americans without health insurance stood at record highs, the Census Bureau said yesterday. The share of Americans in “deep poverty” — with incomes below half of the poverty line — also hit the highest level on record, with data going back to 1975.
Contributing to the high percentage of Americans who have no health insurance was the decline in the percentage of Americans with employer-provided health coverage. The new data also highlight the importance of implementing health care reform, slated to take full effect in 2014.
The new Census figures also show that millions more Americans would have fallen into poverty or become uninsured if not for programs like unemployment insurance, food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and Medicaid, which face major decisions by federal and state policymakers — and could face substantial cuts.
The 2010 figures were the worst in many years, if not decades, by several measures, as the table shows.
Click here for the full report.
