Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images, file
Juan Morena sits on a Los Angeles, Calif., sidewalk as he waits for the St. Francis Center soup kitchen to open on Sept. 13.
Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans —
nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings
that classify them as low income.
The latest census
data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high
and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of
stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers
and families.
"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty
from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with
work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too 'rich' to
qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy
professor who specializes in poverty.
"The reality is that
prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If
Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of
poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."
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