Feature Story from civilrights.org
Melissa Krainson
September 19, 2007
Stagnating poverty figures and rising number of uninsured Americans are a result of weakened federal policy, as well as changes in the economy, according to a number of prominent economists and civil rights leaders.
On September 12, a panel of experts held a briefing on Capitol Hill to discuss the implications the recently released Census Bureau poverty and health care has on pending federal legislation.
The poverty rate is 12.3 percent for 2006, a slight decrease from the previous year, according to the Census Bureau. The figures revealed racial disparities as Blacks and Hispanics comprise nearly 45 percent of those who live below the poverty line, while Whites comprise less than 10 percent.
Asian Americans still have the highest median income and the poverty rate for this population has declined since 2005. However, economist Rebecca Blank, co-director of the National Poverty Center at the Ford School, said that the figures for Asian Americans can be misleading because the population is so diverse. For example, 38 percent of Cambodians live below poverty, a higher percentage than any other racial or ethnic category.
Terry Ao, of the Asian American Justice Center, said that highlighting the diversity of Asian Americans will educate the public about the economic issues that plague sub-populations.
Census data also found that there were 47 million uninsured Americans in 2006. However, experts say that the figure is probably higher when looking at the number of uninsured Americans at any one point in the calendar year.
The panelists also said that the data reveals that the relative economic progress in America is not "trickling down."
Median income was up over 2005, but it is still lower than in 2000. Blank said that wages haven't gone up and most of the increase in median income can be attributed to people working more hours. The Black median income is roughly 60 percent of the White median income.
The panel agreed that strong federal policy is needed to help reduce poverty and increase healthcare coverage, including expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The EITC program reduces the amount of taxes low income Americans pay. It is an effective way of providing governmental assistance to people below 50 percent of poverty line. Many civil rights groups believe EITC needs to be expanded to cover as many of those in need as possible.
The SCHIP program, created in 1997, provides health coverage for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private insurance. SCHIP currently insures nearly 7 million children.
Two slightly different bills passed in both the House and the Senate. President Bush has threatened to veto the compromise bill if it includes additional money that SCHIP supporters say could help insure 5 million more children.
In addition, workers are earning less. Congress recently increased the minimum wage – the first increase in 10 years. But experts warn that inflation has already undercut the minimum wage even increase.
Jen Kern from the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) believes legislation took a decade to pass because "there is a problem with money in politics."
She said that most people want legislation that makes their lives easier and that Congressmen need to be held accountable to the people who they represent and not big time lobbying associations.
