I
n 2005, Hurricane Katrina heightened public awareness
of poverty in the United States. The Lower Ninth ward of
New Orleans was a place few Americans had ever heard
of, and yet everyone seemed to recognize it as a place where
the United States hit rock bottom. Katrina drew attention to
the shameful failures of government. The bungled response
was seen as a reflection of the government’s failed response to
poverty writ large.
Poverty by the Numbers
According to recent government survey data, 12.5 percent
of people in the United States are poor. That means that one in
eight people you pass on the street today represents someone
who is poor—and this statistic reflects data collected before the
recession.1 Recent government data also finds that 12.1 percent
of people in the United States are food insecure, sometimes
called “at risk of hunger.”2 It is no coincidence that food
insecurity rates align so closely with poverty rates; poverty and
food insecurity usually travel together.
Figure 1 shows U.S. poverty and food insecurity data from
2000-2007. The numbers scarcely changed during those years,
but when the data are updated again, we are certain to see a
spike caused by the severity of the current recession.
Figure 1:
Poverty and Food Insecurity in the United States
45 –
Number of Food Insecure People
40 –
Number of Poor People
Poverty was not invisible before Katrina, but there was more
complacency about it. Organizations already working to raise
awareness of poverty might have hoped that the hurricane,
tragic as it was, would shake up the status quo. But more than
three years have passed since Hurricane Katrina, and little has
been done at the federal level to step up efforts to fight poverty
in the Gulf or elsewhere around the country. Now the country
faces the worst recession since the 1930s, and millions more
people are likely to find themselves thrown into poverty.
A growing chorus of government officials and policymakers
want more attention and resources focused on poverty reduction,
spurred on by faith-based groups like Bread for the World,
Catholic Charities USA, Sojourners, and the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs. Setting a national goal to reduce poverty
would focus the entire country. Such a commitment does not
mean a huge, one-shot government program. No government
program by itself can lift people out of poverty if they are not
prepared to do some hard work themselves. But there are
millions of people who continue to struggle despite their own
efforts to do what’s right by their families and communities.
Because of circumstances beyond their control, they cannot get
out of poverty without some help. Whether our society is willing
to reach out and offer this help speaks volumes about our core
values and aspirations as a people.
2 Briefing Paper, February 2009
Number of People in Millions
Elizabeth Whelan
35 –
30 –
25 –
20 –
15 –
10 –
5–
0–
2000 2001 2002 2003
2004
Source: Census Bureau and USDA, 2008.
2005
2006
2007
Since 1973, poverty rates have remained between 10 and
15 percent (see Figure 2). It is not because of a weak economy
that the poverty rate has not fa llen below 10 percent. The U.S.
economy has been growing steadily throughout this period—but
the rewards have mainly gone to those in higher income groups.
Nor is poverty due to high rates of unemployment. Annual
survey data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that many
poor adults are working, some in full-time, year-round work.
Figure 2 shows another piece of information that should
not be overlooked: the years between 1959 and 1973, when
the poverty rate fell by more than half. One reason for this
was a strong economy in which the rewards were shared more
equitably, but another is the often-dismissed “War on Poverty,”
which included a series of new social programs like Medicare and
Medicaid, improvements in Social Security, and an expansion of