America in Poverty: 1 in 4 Hispanics Live on Less Than $1,000 a Month
A report by the U.S. Census Bureau has indicated a significant rise in the number of U.S. citizens living in poverty. According to the report, the rate stands at 15.1 percent for the year 2010, which is an increase from 14.3 percent in 2009. This worryingly is also the highest level since 1993.
The U.S. definition of poverty is when the annual income for a single person is less than $11,139 or less than $22,314 for a family of four.
The census indicates that the number of black (27.4 percent) and Hispanic (26.6 percent) people in poverty is much higher compared to the overall U.S. population.
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The average annual earnings of a U.S. household also fell by 2.3 percent in 2010.
The situation is the same for young Americans under the age of 18 with over 22 percent of this group living below the poverty line - compared to 20.7 percent in 2009.
"The rising numbers of children living in poverty is a direct result of the choices made by political leaders who put billionaires before kids,” the Children’s Leadership Council has announced. “America's children should be our top priority."
