Poverty in America: The nations poverty rate was 16.0 percent in 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released on Wednesday. The supplemental poverty measure takes into account the impact on family resources of different benefits and expenses. Social Security, for example, kept 26.6 million Americans out of poverty last year. Food stamps provided by the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, or SNAP, kept another 5 million people above the poverty level, the report said. The main reason people fell into poverty last year was out-of-pocket health care expenses. That put 10.6 million people into poverty, the Census Bureau said. Instead of working to cut poverty, some in Congress are considering cuts to the very programs that have kept people out of poverty. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a member of the special committee working on a budget for the coming year, is leading the effort to fend off attacks on programs that help working families. sanders.senate.gov/a-different-way-of-measuring-poverty
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 19:46:44 +0000