by Peter Gorenstein
The “Great Recession” is taking a heavy toll. One in seven Americans were living in poverty last year, according to the 2009 Census report, released Thursday.
Here are the facts:
• The poverty rate jumped to 14.3% in 2009, the highest rate since 1994 and up from 13.2% in 2008.
• 43.6 million Americans are struggling to eat every day – that’s the most since 1959.
• A record 50.7 million, were not covered by health-care insurance in 2009.
Meanwhile, the rich keep getting richer. The number of U.S. millionaires jumped 16% to 7.8 million in 2009.
As Aaron and Henry discuss in this clip, the growing discrepancy between the rich and the poor didn't happen overnight, or even with this latest recession. It's the result of three-plus decades of stagnant wages for average workers amid a dwindling manufacturing base, plus a trend toward regressive tax policies since the early 1980s.
Whatever the reason, the "wealth gap" is not a healthy sign for this country.
Washington is currently debating extending the Bush tax cuts as a means to lessen the load on struggling Americans. No one wants to pay more taxes, but Aaron and Henry say this a short-term solution that isn’t likely to create the millions of jobs needed to get Americans back on their feet.
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