New Census Figures Point To Sobering Poverty And Declining Incomes Under Obama

In 2009, Obama Said “If I Don’t Have This Done In Three Years, Then There’s Going To Be A One-Term Proposition.” OBAMA: “That’s exactly right. And — and, you know, a year from now I think people — are going to see that — we’re starting to make some progress. But there’s still going to be some pain out there. If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” (NBC’s “The Today Show,” 2/2/09)

Obamanomics Results In Sobering Poverty And Declining Incomes

In 2011, 46.2 Million Americans Lived In Poverty, As The Official Poverty Rate Was 15 Percent. “In 2011, the official poverty rate was 15.0 percent. There were 46.2 million people in poverty (Figure 4 and Table 3).” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

  • Under Obama, Poverty Has Either Increased Or Been Stagnant. “After 3 consecutive years of increases, neither the official poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2010 estimates (Figure 4 and Table 3).” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)
  • In 2011, 9.5 Million American Families Were In Poverty, About 11.8 Percent Of All Families.  “In 2011, the poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 11.8 percent and 9.5 million, both not statistically different from the 2010 estimates (Table 4).” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)
  • Since Obama Took Office, About 28 Percent Of The Population Had At Least One Spell Of Poverty Lasting 2 Months Or More. “During the 2-year period from 2009 to 2010, approximately 28.0 percent of the population had at least one spell of poverty lasting 2 or more months.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

Obama Hasn’t Made A Single Speech Devoted To Poverty As President, And If You Visit Barackobama.Com These Days, You Would Be Hard-Pressed To Find Any Reference To The Subject Whatsoever.” “Obama hasn’t made a single speech devoted to poverty as president, and if you visit barackobama.com these days, you would be hard-pressed to find any reference to the subject whatsoever. As a result, he is missing — so far, at least — an important opportunity to change and elevate the national conversation on poverty.” (Paul Tough, “Obama Vs. Poverty,” The New York Times, 8/15/12) 

Under Obama, Income Inequality Has Increased, The First Time The U.S. Gini Index Has Shown An Annual Increase Since 1993. “Income inequality between 2010 and 2011 increased as measured by changes in the shares of aggregate household income by quintiles, the Gini index, the Theil index, and the Atkinson measures. The Gini index showed a 1.6 percent increase from 2010. This is the first time the Gini index has shown an annual increase since 1993, the earliest year available for comparable measures of income inequality (Tables 2 and A-2).” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

Real Median Household Income Declined From $50,831 In 2010 To $50,054 In 2011, The Second Consecutive Annual Decline. “Median household income was $50,054 in 2011, a 1.5 percent decline in real terms from 2010 (Figure 1 and Table 1). This was the second consecutive annual decline in household income.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

  • Under Obama, Seniors Aged 55 To 64 Experienced The Largest Decrease In Income Of Any Householder Age Group, From $58,256 In 2010 To $55,947 In 2011. (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)
  • Under Obama, Householders In The West Experienced The Largest Decrease In Income Of Any Other U.S. Region, From $54,630 In 2010 To $52,376 In 2011. (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)
  • Real Median Income Declined For Family Households By 1.7 Percent From 2010 To 2011, The Fourth Consecutive Annual Decline. “Real median income declined for family households between 2010 and 2011, by 1.7 percent to $62,273 (Table 1). This was the fourth consecutive annual decline.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

Under Obama, The Income Of Black Households Has Decreased From $33,137 In 2010 To $32,229 In 2011, A Decrease Of $908. (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

  • The Poverty Rate For Blacks In 2011 Was 27.6 Percent, Accounting For 10.9 Million In Poverty. “For Blacks, the 2011 poverty rate was 27.6 percent, which represents 10.9 million people in poverty.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

Under Obama, Income Inequality Between Men And Women Has Remained Stagnant. “In 2011, the female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.77, not statistically different from the 2010 ratio.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)

  • Under Obama, Median Earnings For Women Have Decreased By Nearly $1,000, From $38,052 In 2010 To $37,118 In 2011. “The median earnings of men declined from $49,463 to $48,202, and those of women declined from $38,052 to $37,118.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)
  • The Poverty Rate For Women Aged 18 To 64 In 2011 Was 15.5 Percent, Whereas The Poverty Rate For Men Aged 18 To 64 Was 11.8 Percent. “The poverty rate for women aged 18 to 64 was 15.5 percent, while the poverty rate for men aged 18 to 64 was 11.8 percent.” (Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, “Income, Poverty, And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2011,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/12/12)