Another Four Million Poor Under Obama

There are roughly 44 million people in the United States who are living below the poverty line, and their wealth has decreased by 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

Eighteen months after Obama became the first African-American president, the number of those living in poverty has risen by four million. One out of seven Americans is poor, according to the Census Bureau.

An American is considered poor if he or she has an annual income of under $10,830 before taxes. For a two-parent household with two children, that number is $21,954.

The probability of a mine engineer being poorer than the rest of U.S. citizens is incredibly high. Thirty percent of single mothers and 25 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics are poor. Despite health insurance reform (not in full effect until 2014), one of six Americans is medically uninsured. Among those who can only benefit from medical services in an emergency are the newly unemployed. In 2009, the number of unemployed increased from nine to 14 million, the highest total in the last 29 years.

For the first time since 1987, the total number of medically insured has dropped significantly, and so has income. The actual average income of an American household decreased 0.7 percent in 2009, and 4.4 percent for African-American families. Millions of middle-class Americans are nearing the poverty line, joining the millions already regarded statistically as “poor.”

Immediately following his election to the presidency, Obama managed to get $787 billion from Congress for his economic stimulus package. At the time, the plan was regarded as a way to avoid a “new Great Depression.” However, not two years later, the money seems to have been wasted, as Americans are living even worse.

Between 1998 and 2000, average yearly income for a middle-class family (husband, wife and two children) decreased from $51,295 to $49,777. In just the second quarter of 2010, the income of U.S. citizens and non-profit entities dropped by 2.8 percent.

Americans are considered to be 20 percent poorer than in December 2007, especially since the financial resurgence of certain companies in 2009 (compared to losses in 2008) has made no significant impact on employee purchasing power. And while the average taxpayer is getting poorer by the day, most banks are doing no better, as 125 of them went bankrupt in 2010. That number is getting closer to the one in 140 who closed their doors in 2009.