Poverty in America

1 in 5 Elderly are Poor

by Leigh Graham

categories: Children In Poverty, Corporations, Economy, Bailout, And Stimulus, Federal Policy, Government, Health & Healthcare, Housing, Inequality, Jobs & Unemployment, Local Policy, Race, Ethnicity, Class & Gender, Social Programs, Stimulus Package

Published September 05, 2009 @ 10:38AM PT

When calculating poverty using the modernized measure from the National Academy of Sciences, the number of older adults living in poverty is nearly double the official rate.  The whole article is worth reading for the ways current poverty numbers - among children, single mothers, in cities, etc. - would change if we updated the federal poverty measure.

Everyday that I blog I find more features, reports, news items, etc. than I can possibly cover here.  But I don't want to let these stories slip by.  So consider this your weekend afternoon news dump on poverty in the U.S.

Welcome to your jobless recovery.

But firefighters are keeping surprisingly busy: "Among the hidden costs of the health care crisis is the burden that fire departments across the country are facing as firefighters, much like emergency room doctors, are increasingly serving as primary care providers."  For Engine Company 10, featured in the story and serving one of the poorest neighborhoods in D.C., 80% of their emergency calls are medical.

The stimulus provided funds for low-income health clinics; in Colorado, as new clinics are built, the state is slashing the funds that pay for clinic staff - "creating a situation where new buildings may stand empty."

In L.A., in Watts, demolishing 2,300 homes equals "a national symbol of rebirth." True.  Nothing gives Americans a renewed sense of patriotic optimism like watching stuff blow up.

American spending priorities lead to "some of the industrial world's worst rates of infant mortality, teenage pregnancy and child poverty," according to a new survey of child well-being by the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development.  Turns out investing in children at a young age helps them grow up healthy and strong!  Remind me why we hate European models of healthcare, again?

23 states still have not expanded their unemployment benefits, leaving $3.1B in stimulus funds on the table.  350,000 Americans could be helped by this unclaimed money.  Way to go, Texas & Florida (among others).

Poor communities along the US-Mexico border, in the rural South, in Appalachia, and in inner-cities are contracting diseases typically seen only in the developing world, due to "overcrowding, malnutrition, poor sanitation" and close contact with animals.  I could not be more aghast right now.  Worse is that because we don't anticipate such wretched conditions in our country, most medical students are not trained to recognize these diseases in US settings.

Social service agencies struggle as "government, foundation and individual grants down by as much as 50 percent" and endowments or investments decline.

Most homeless are not eligible for Medicaid.  We should change that.

Remember those low-wage workers who are regularly exploited by their employers? The AFL-CIO gives up on card check: "In recent months, several crucial Democratic senators have told organized labor that they could not round up the 60 votes needed to assure passage of any bill containing card check."  In God and Corporate Lobbyists We Trust!

Finally, a bit of good news: California legislates a tax on insurance companies to save health insurance for 700,000 low-income kids.

It's Labor Day weekend! We deserve a momentary reprieve from the endless work we face to make this country healthier, safer and more prosperous for us all!  Enjoy it!

(Photo "Thinking about life" by pedrosimoes7)