Monday 09-19-11

I+see+this+on+last+two+our+of+three+sites+i+have+worked+on%2C+people+living+in+the+woods.+Trying+to+hold+jobs+but+can+not+afford+the+rent+or+housing+cost.+So+they+live+in+the+woods+in+shacks+they+build.+We+usually+have+to+have+the+sheriff+evict+them+so+we+can+continue+the+project.+Reminds+me+of+Charlie+in+Jerry+D.+Youngs+story+called+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPercys-Mission-ebook%2Fdp%2FB004TGTL5G%2Fref%3Dsr_1_2%3Fs%3Ddigital-text%26amp%3Bie%3DUTF8%26amp%3Bqid%3D1316440472%26amp%3Bsr%3D1-2%22%3EPercy%27s+Mission%0D%0A%3C%2Fa%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23006600%3B%22%3E%3Cstrong%3EAlmost+1+in+6+Americans+living+below+poverty+line%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+figures+on+income+levels+released+this+week+confirm+what+many+in+the+United+States+struggling+to+make+ends+meet+already+knew%3A+it+is+a+country+in+the+midst+of+a+poverty+crisis+that+will+define+a+generation.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0ASoaring+poverty+rates+and+a+decade+of+stagnation+in+prosperity+levels+even+for+wealthier+Americans+emerge+as+the+gloomy+headlines+from+a+new+Census+Bureau+survey+showing+that+46.2+million+people+in+the+country+were+subsisting+below+the+poverty+level+last+year%2C+more+than+has+been+seen+in+any+year+since+the+surveys+began+52+years+ago.%0D%0A%0D%0ALast+year+an+additional+2.6+million+Americans+fell+below+the+poverty+threshold%2C+set+at+%2422%2C113+for+a+family+of+four.+Moreover%2C+median+household+incomes+dipped+to+a+level+not+seen+since+1997.+The+US+has+not+seen+such+an+extended+period+without+growth+in+household+income+since+the+Great+Depression.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+Census+Bureau+statistics+amount+to+a+study+in+gloom+and+lost+optimism.+The+percentage+of+Americans+living+below+the+poverty+threshold+was+the+highest+it+has+been+since+1993+%E2%80%93+15.1+per%2C+up+from+14.3+per+cent+the+previous+year+and+11.7+per+cent+in+2001.%0D%0A%0D%0AThey+are+also+a+study+in+disparity.+While+Americans+in+the+top+10+per+cent+of+earners+saw+median+household+income+drop+by+only+1.5+per+cent+since+1999%2C+for+those+in+the+bottom+tenth+of+the+income+spectrum+it+plummeted+by+12+per+cent.+And+while+22+per+cent+of+all+American+children+were+living+in+poverty+last+year%2C+it+was+true+for+nearly+four+in+10+African-American+children%2C+and+barely+better+in+Hispanic+households.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe+picture+was+worse+than+most+analysts+had+been+expecting+and+is+likely+to+reinforce+the+growing+sense+that+the+country+is+on+a+historic+losing+streak%2C+that+any+recovery+since+the+2008+crash+has+done+little+or+nothing+to+improve+the+lot+of+the+majority.+It+may+thus+also+darken+the+gloom+already+enveloping+President+Barack+Obama+as+he+travels+the+US+trying+to+pitch+the+American+Jobs+Act+he+unveiled+last+week.%0D%0A%0D%0A%22This+is+one+more+piece+of+bad+news+on+the+economy%2C%22+said+Ron+Haskins%2C+co-director+of+the+Centre+on+Children+and+Families+at+the+Brookings+Institution.+%22This+will+be+another+cross+to+bear+by+the+administration.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ALawrence+Katz%2C+an+economics+professor+at+Harvard%2C+said%3A+%22A+full+year+into+recovery%2C+there+were+no+signs+of+it+affecting+the+well-being+of+a+typical+American+family.+By+late+2010%2C+the+economy+was+sort+of+dead+in+the+water%2C+and+that%27s+where+it%27s+remained.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AHe+told+the+New+York+Times%3A+%22This+is+truly+a+lost+decade.+We+think+of+America+as+a+place+where+every+generation+is+doing+better%2C+but+we%27re+looking+at+a+period+when+the+median+family+is+in+worse+shape+than+it+was+in+the+late+1990s.%22%0D%0A%0D%0ALast+year%2C+6.7+per+cent+of+Americans+had+fallen+into+deep+poverty%2C+living+somewhere+below+half+the+poverty+line.+The+figures+could+give+Mr+Obama+and+the+Democrats+in+Washington+ammunition+against+Republicans+who+continue+to+resist+any+changes+in+tax+rates+that+might+force+the+richest+Americans+to+pay+a+higher+share+and+who+support+to+only+parts+of+the+Obama+jobs+plan.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt+is+joblessness+that+lies+behind+the+poverty+rates.+About+48+million+Americans+aged+18+to+64+did+not+work+at+all+last+year%2C+the+Bureau+said.+Some+may+have+foregone+work+by+choice%2C+but+among+those+who+tried+and+especially+those+now+among+the+growing+ranks+of+the+long-term+unemployed%2C+the+difficulties+only+multiply+as+their+homes+are+foreclosed+on+and+health+insurance+premiums+are+beyond+their+reach.%0D%0A%0D%0AUS+poverty+in+numbers%0D%0A%0D%0A48%2C000%2C000+Americans+aged+18+to+64+did+not+work+at+all+last+year.%0D%0A%0D%0A40+per+cent+of+African-American+children+living+in+poverty.%0D%0A%0D%0A46%2C200%2C000+people+in+the+US+in+poverty+this+year%2C+up+by+2%2C600%2C000+on+2010.%0D%0A%0D%0A%2422%2C113+Official+poverty+line+for+a+family+of+four+in+the+US.%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fem%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000099%3B%22%3E%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Falmost-1-in-6-americans-living-below-poverty-line-2354789.html%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Famericas%2Falmost-1-in-6-americans-living-below-poverty-line-2354789.html%3C%2Fa%3E+%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000099%3B%22%3E%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000000%3B%22%3EThis+is+not+very+surprising+when+the+unemployment+rate+is+really+over+20+percent.%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%+helped+the+state+keep+the+lowest+unemployment+rate+since+November+2008.%0D%0A%0D%0AIt+was+followed+by+Nebraska+%284.2+percent%29+and+South+Dakota+%284.7+percent%29.%0D%0A%0D%0AIn+August%2C+30+states+and+the+District+of+Columbia+reported+job+losses.%0D%0A%0D%0ANew+York+lost+22%2C700+net+jobs+to+lead+the+nation.+It+was+followed+by+Georgia%2C+with+18%2C200+lost+jobs%2C+and+the+District+of+Columbia%2C+with+12%2C500+fewer+jobs.+Both+Georgia+and+D.C.+saw+big+declines+in+government+jobs.%0D%0A%0D%0AMinnesota+posted+the+biggest+job+gain+in+August%3A+28%2C400.+But+that+was+mainly+because+the+state+rehired+workers+who+were+temporarily+laid+off+during+the+government%27s+July+shutdown.%0D%0A%0D%0ANorth+Carolina+added+16%2C500+net+jobs%2C+the+second+highest.+Arizona+had+15%2C400+more+jobs.+Both+states+added+public+workers+after+governments+shed+thousands+of+employees.%0D%0A%0D%0ABut+North+Carolina%27s+unemployment+rate+rose+despite+the+gain+in+jobs.+The+unemployment+rate+can+increase+even+if+jobs+are+added+because+people+are+counted+as+unemployed+only+if+they+are+actively+looking+for%0D%0A%0D%0A%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cspan+style%3D%22color%3A%23000066%3B%22%3Ehttp%3A%2F%2Ffinance.yahoo.com%2Fnews%2FUnemployment-rates-rose-in-apf-2316469496.html%3Fx%3D0%3C%2Fspan%3E%0D%0A