http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/147894The U.S. poverty rate rose to a record 15.1 percent in 2010 – the highest level since 1993, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Data indicated that some 46.2 million Americans were reported to be living in poverty, a year-over-year increase of 2.6 million people.
The median household income fell by 2.3 percent between 2009 and 2010 and with inflation factored in, the typical household earned less than it did in 1997.
The lowest 10 percent of earners experienced a decline of 12.1 percent, and the top 10 percent experienced a drop of 1.5 percent in the same period. Moreover, 16.3 percent of Americans were without health coverage in 2010, virtually no change since 2009.
The New York-based Foundation Center, an NGO that coordinates information for grant writers, noted in a news item Wednesday that this was also the fourth consecutive annual increase in the nation's poverty rate.
In 2010, the U.S. reached its highest level of poverty in the 52 years since the data has been collected, according to a report in The Washington Post. Living below the poverty line for a U.S. family of four is defined by having a household income of $22,314.
Last month Standard & Poor's rating service downgraded America's AAA credit rating to AA+ and expressed "reduced confidence" in the government's ability to stabilize the nation's medium-term debt dynamics.
Meanwhile, while the United States has continued to provide foreign aid and funding to the Palestinian Authority, which pays salaries to terrorist murderers serving life sentences in Israeli prisons.
Topic: Report: US Reaches Record-Breaking Poverty Levels (Read 345 times)