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Now US poverty rate highest, since 1997
Monday September 14, 2009
The U.S. poverty rate reached its highest level since 1997 by the end of 2008, according to a new report from the Census Bureau. The 13.2 percent poverty rate translates to about 39.8 million Americans living in poverty in 2008, up from 37.7 million in 2007.
During 2008, the federal government defined poverty as a pre-tax annual income of: $10,991 (494595/- Rs. monthly, 41216/- Rs.) for individuals, $14,051 (632295/- Rs. Monthly, 52691/- Rs.) for a family of two, $17,163 (772335/- Rs. monthly, 64361/- Rs.) for a family of three and $22,025 (991125/- Rs. monthly, 82593/- Rs.) for a family of four.
The figures show clearly, that America’s poor are richer than rich of India!! Getting a shock! Don’t faint, read more! The poorest of the Americans is richer than India’s middle class who is happy with 25000/- per month! The salaries given to our airplane pilots are less than the average income of the poor Americans! And here we feel that they are over paid! How sad!! Looking to these figures one can say, our pilots are the cheapest in the world!
According to the Census Bureau, the poverty rate reached similar levels in 1993, 1962, 1961, 1960 and 1959, but has not exceeded the 2008 rate of 13.2 percent since 1960. In addition, the 2008 poverty rate was 9.2 percentage points lower than in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates were calculated.
Never at a loss for unhappy news these days, the Census Bureau also reported that the U.S. annual median household income for 2008 fell by 3.6 percent to $50,303, the largest drop since 1991. That means, income of middle class American fell to 2263635/- Rs or monthly 188636/- Rs. and it is only 3.6% lesser than the previous!
After pointing out that the poverty numbers reflected “what we knew to be true about the final year of the Bush administration,” Commerce Sec. Gary Locke commented, “The numbers underscore two important points: One, there is an urgent need to pass health insurance reform to drive down costs for hard-pressed American families. And two, the Recovery Act was crucial for preventing a struggling economy from falling into depression.”
Unemployment Not Helping: On September 4, the Department of Labor reported that the number of “unemployed persons” in the U.S. increased by 466,000 to 14.9 million, and the unemployment rate rose 9.7 percent in August. Those numbers did not include another 2.3 million Americans who, although out of work, are not considered “unemployed.”
These statistics clearly indicate the condition of American economy due to fast track method of economic experiment presently in practice, such as online trading and online stock market gambling, to become rich quickly! Some experts suggest that addiction for newly developed online trading habit is responsible for general apathy for work and less interest in hard work, has created a new trend for lazy money. Too many people indulging in online trading has caused loss of business to many. They say online trading should be restricted to limited numbers however; net work people oppose that since they are the main beneficiaries of this online practice. The unemployment rate is likely to rise more in the near future since people are hoping to get money by online trading and online stock market gambling. Most continue to trade until the last quote; and when they have to take delivery they having no facility to do it; are left with no option but to sell the stock at fairly low prices and loose the money they have earned in the trade. Finally most loose the gains but still they continue with added vigor hoping that they will gain in the next transaction and thus it goes on. Online trading has become a new type of addiction that is driving youth in America mad. There is no desire to work to earn in the youth of US and the trend is increasing. Even if employment opportunities are created; youth is not interested in doing any work because of hopes that they can make more money sitting at home! This gives opportunity to migrants from developing countries such as India, Pakistan, Africa to get work but it is not the solution to the problem; resulting parody in that society. The risk is ever increasing since the inter-net people are continuously propagating to attract more youth to this online trading and stock market gambling. Government support to online gambling in shares market is adding to the problem. To add on that media writes columns after columns to support online-trading and shares-gambling.
In India as yet this craze for online trading is in infancy but if we do not check it in time, this craze for making money sitting home will put our youth in the same trouble in the near future.
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