September
2006
On August 29th
the Census Bureau released its 2005 data on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage.
For social service providers, human needs advocates, and average Americans, the numbers aren’t surprising and
confirm the strain that many have been feeling. Although the poverty rate did
not increase in 2005, 37 million Americans (12.6%) remain in poverty, including 12.9 million children (17.7%). More troubling is the increasing share of poor people (43%) who live in extreme poverty with incomes less
than half of the poverty line ($7,788 for a family of three, $9,985 for a family of 4).
In addition, while overall median income inched up slightly (1.1%), median wages actually fell for the second year
in a row for men and the third year in a row for women. Overall, average family
incomes are essentially flat since the economic recovery began in 2001, despite record corporate profits and reportedly strong
economic growth.
The other news from the Census
data release is the further documentation of the growing health care crisis in our country: the number of Americans without
health insurance increased for the fifth year in a row to 46.6 million (up 1.3 million) or 15.9%. For the first time since 1998, the number of children without health insurance also increased, from 7.9
million (10.8%) in 2004 to 8.3 million (11.2%) in 2005. The key factor in the
increase in the number of uninsured is the continuing erosion of employer-provided health coverage because of skyrocketing
insurance premiums. Increased enrollment in public programs (Medicaid, SCHIP)
has helped offset the losses in employer-based coverage and prevented the number of uninsured from rising faster. However, growing numbers of low-income working families and low-income individuals are without health insurance
because fewer employers are offering coverage and eligibility for public programs is limited.
These Census numbers continue
to paint a picture of growing inequality in America in which the benefits of economic growth are increasingly concentrated at the
top of the income scale—in which the rising tide is definitely not lifting
all boats. Unfortunately, our public policies have done little to address this
disparity and in many cases have exacerbated it: the minimum wage has not been increased for the past decade; welfare policy
changes will make it harder for families to get the education, training, and services they need to find jobs that help them
escape poverty; and, budget cuts to programs that promote opportunity and support struggling families have been enacted to
help pay for tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the most affluent, but the cost of those tax cuts along with military expenditures
continue to drive up national debt, crippling our ability to invest in the future. As
the National Advocacy Center staff reflects on the past year in particular, the misdirection of our national
leadership becomes all the more evident.
Just as last year’s
Census numbers were being released, Hurricane Katrina was devastating the Gulf Coast and the images of poverty and disparity that emerged led many to hope that a new dialogue about national priorities. Many new ideas were generated in those first few months and new conversations started,
but these were quickly laid aside in Congress in favor of the policy agenda and priorities that were the very source of the
problems Katrina revealed and of the government’s failed response.
Yet, even as Congress has
resumed “business as usual,” new coalitions of advocates have formed across the country, generating tens of thousands
of calls and letters urging Congress to make better choices and beginning to articulate a renewed vision for the common good
(see the Covenant for a New America, which the National Advocacy Center has signed). These coalitions and the National
Advocacy Center’s continuing work with other religious partners remind us that we are a
people of hope and that another world is always possible if we are willing to speak up and to act. As we head into the final weeks of congressional activity and the election season, our collective voices
and actions become all the more important for new priorities to really take hold. Below
you will find a few ideas and resources to help you engage your elected leaders and your communities on the issues and evaluate
all of the campaign messages coming at you for the values and leadership our country needs.
What You Can Do
Take a Look at the Data
Write a Letter to the Editor about the Census Data
See the September 6th action alert for more details and suggestions. The goal is to encourage Congress to make poverty a real priority and encourage better
public dialogue about our choices as a nation and how they impact poverty and inequality.
Resources to
Encourage Further Discussion
