The Census Bureau reports in the 2004 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Estimates From the Current Population Survey that despite the growth in the number of jobs over the last two quarters, the number of persons living in poverty has again increased. According to a recent Census report, household income has now stagnated for five years in a row.
This stagnation in income comes on the heels of a decline in the number of households covered by employer-based health insurance. The only factor standing in the way of an increase in the number of families without health care is two federal health care programs––Medicare and Medicaid.
Last year, income stayed fairly even with inflation because families sent more persons to work. More family members reported working more than one job. This year, despite part-time jobs and more hours on the job, income declined for both men and women, falling 2% for men. This was especially true for persons aged 19–64. The decline in income becomes worrisome as we face rising costs of living, especially for fuel and petroleum-related products.
Recent evidence suggests that poverty is clearly on the rise in this country. Despite an overall high level of labor force participation by men and women, today poverty hovers at almost 13%.
The regional distribution of poverty is highly uneven. In New York City, the poverty rate is above 20%. New York’s Bronx County has the dubious distinction of ranking among the nation’s poorest counties, next to counties on the Texas-Mexico border. The Midwest’s continued loss of jobs over the last year has resulted in declining incomes and rising poverty rates. Industrial recovery has failed to increase the well-being of American families.
Wealth remains highly concentrated geographically. The nation’s truly rich individuals are concentrated in enclaves surrounding the nation’s biggest cities, including Fairfax, Virginia and Somerset County, New Jersey.
Why, given the federally reported high levels of employment, are wages stagnant and in some cases declining? Labor market uncertainty is the culprit. Employers enjoy a buyer’s market and can hire and fire at will. With little to fall back on, workers take what they can get–less insurance, more hours of work, and lower starting salaries.
Hurricane Katrina will only add to the problem of inequality. States in the South, including Louisiana and Mississippi, are among the poorest in the nation. Displaced by the hurricane, the region’s poor have now lost all of their material possessions. Current reports suggest normalcy will take months to return to the devastated region. In the meantime jobs will be scarce, causing incomes to plummet just when people are the most vulnerable.
Given today’s Census statistics, Katrina couldn’t have hit at a worse time. The region’s poor have no degrees of freedom, no wiggle room, nothing to fall back on––and now, no place to call home. To stigmatize the poor further by focusing on the looting occurring in the city of New Orleans and linking it graphically to people who have lost everything reveals a dark side of the American condition. It is not one to be proud of.