Low-Income Community Members Respond to New U.S. Census Poverty Data

NEW YORK, NY (09/13/2011)(readMedia)-- Low-income leaders of the group Community Voices Heard (CVH) responded to new poverty data that was released today, saying it quantifies the startling poverty and inequality millions of people in our nation and our state suffers from. The organization is a membership-led and directed organization made up of 25,000 low-income individuals in New York City, Yonkers, Newburgh and Poughkeepsie.

Those that were responding included public housing residents and public assistance recipients from around the state that are fighting for aggressive job creation programs and critical programs necessary to stabilize New York State's economy and ensure the economic security of all communities around the state.

Key findings the group lifted up include:

• The nation's official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 ? the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate.

• There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ? the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.

• The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (from 20.7 percent in 2009 to 22.0 percent in 2010) and people 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent in 2009 to 13.7 percent in 2010), while it was not statistically different for people 65 and older (9.0 percent).

Quotes from low-income New Yorkers, members of Community Voices Heard:

"I was not surprised about the finding of this report at all because I live it every day. There are less services now and no jobs for the low income community, thanks to the cuts on the state and federal level. Governor Cuomo knows that poverty is there and there is something he can do about it – keep the Personal Income Tax Surcharge that puts a small tax on the richest New Yorkers. This money goes to services for the community that we need to survive."

-Loretta Manning, public assistance recipient and mother of 6, Newburgh

"Poverty increasing means we need more aid to poor families in the form of the federal program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF funding should be directed to real education and training to enhance real living wage employment."

-Precious Andrews, public assistance recipient and public housing resident, New York City

"Low-income communities need more of a commitment to create jobs that pay enough to support their families. Elected officials need to see these poverty stats as a state of emergency and come up with a plan that includes revenue raising to create jobs in the communities hit hardest."

-Denise Bonitto, Yonkers

"It is not a surprise to find out that things have gotten worse for poor people in the whole country. We have really felt the cost of living go up and it doesn't help that our wages have remained the same. Paying bills, buying food, getting from place to place has become a burden for us."

-Pat Diaz, Poughkeepsie

This follows last year's Census information which found the nation's official poverty rate was 14.3%, up from 13.2% the year before. This left about 44 million people in poverty, an increase of about 4 million people over the prior year.

As startling as these number are, households experiencing poverty is actually likely to be far greater.

The current poverty thresholds do not adjust for rising levels and standards of living that have occurred since 1965, according to a June 2011 report by Kathleen S. Short of the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division of the U.S. Census Bureau. Nor does it take into account variation in expenses that are necessary to hold a job and to earn income-- expenses that reduce disposable income. These expenses include transportation costs for getting to work and the increasing costs of child care for working families. It does not take into variation in medical costs across population groups or adjust for geographic differences in prices across the nation, although there are significant variations in prices across geographic areas, according to the study.

The report, "The Supplemental Poverty Measure: Examining the Incidence and Depth of Poverty in the U.S. Taking Account of Taxes and Transfers," is available at: www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/methodology/supplemental/research.html.

Surveys show that in communities of color and in economically depressed areas, such as the Bronx, Newburgh or Poughkeepsie, poverty rates are consistently higher. It is these communities where CVH organizes.

The reactions followed the release of the Census Bureau's report "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010," an annual report that contains the official national findings from the Current Population Survey.

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Community Voices Heard (CVH) is an organization of low-income people, predominantly women with experience on welfare, working to build power in New York City and State to improve the lives of our families and communities. We are working to accomplish this through a multi-pronged strategy, including public education, grassroots organizing, leadership development, training low-income people about their rights, political education, civic engagement and direct-action issue campaigns. We are currently working on welfare reform, job creation, public housing and other economic justice issues that affect low-income people, particularly low-income women of color. For more info visit www.CVHaction.org or follow @CVHaction on Twitter.