Poverty rate rising; poor getting poorer

Poverty Rate Continues To Climb 2004 Census Data Show Labor Market Is Still StrugglingBy

Jonathan Weisman and Ceci Connolly

Washington Post Staff Writers

Wednesday, August 31, 2005;A03

The Washington Post

Despite robust economic growth last year, 1.1 million more Americans slipped into poverty in 2004, while household incomes stagnated and earnings fell, the Census Bureau reported yesterday. The number of Americans without health insurance rose by 800,000, to 45.8 million.The Census Bureau's annual report on income, poverty and health insurance sheds light on voter discontent with the economy in the face of seemingly strong economic data. The broad data draw a picture of a labor market still struggling to find its footing, three years after the 2001 recession.The poverty rate climbed in 2004 to 12.7 percent, from 12.5 percent in 2003 -- the fourth year in a row that poverty has risen. The increase was borne completely by non-Hispanic whites, the only ethnic group that saw its poverty rate rise. The percentage of whites in poverty rose from 8.2 percent in 2003 to 8.6 percent. African Americans saw no change in their poverty rate, which remained at 24.7 percent. The poverty rate for Hispanics remained at 21.9 percent, while Asian Americans' poverty levels dropped by two percentage points, to 9.8 percent.

Also, from a different source:

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CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH

For ImmediateRelease: September 21, 2005

Economists Document Long-Term Growth Fall-Off for Developing CountriesSuggest Topic for IMF/World Bank Fall Meetings

Progress in Health Outcomes, Education Also Reduced

Washington, DC:

The last 25 years have seen sharply reduced economicgrowth and reduced progress in health and education outcomes for low-and middle-income countries in comparison with previous decades, asdocumented in a new paper by the Center for Economic and Policy Research."The official data show a very different picture than most policy-makersand the public have in mind," said economist Mark Weisbrot, Co-Directorof CEPR and co-author of the report."The number one question for the IMF and World Bank at their fallmeetings this weekend should be: what has gone wrong over the last 25 years in the vast majority of developing countries?

The paper, "The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress" http://www.cepr.net/publications/development_2005_09.pdf compares the last 25 years (1980-2005) with the prior two decades(1960-1980) on:- Growth (GDP per capita)- Health outcomes (life expectancy, mortality rates for adults,children, and infants)- Education (public spending on education, school enrollment rates, literacy)

The paper finds a sharp slowdown in growth of GDP per capita and reduced progress for the vast majority of countries on almost all ofthe social indicators. The paper also briefly addresses the possiblereasons for this economic failure, as well as the exceptional successesof China and India over the last 25 years.The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) is a non-partisan,non-profit policy institute that was established to promote democraticdebate on the most important economic and social issues that affectpeople's lives.

CEPR's Advisory Board of Economists includes Nobel Laureate EconomistsRobert Solow and Joseph Stiglitz, and Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University.