The Census Bureau has caught up with reality and the numbers are grim. After a half-century of accounting only for inflation when measuring the poverty line, the federal head counters have started to factor in costs such as housing and transportation as well as the impact of social safety net programs such as Social Security and food stamps.
Most importantly, and especially with the impending implementation of the federal health care reform that will require everyone to have insurance, the Census Bureau has adjusted the definition of poor to include health care costs. And with the adjustments, the number of poor people in the United States hit a record high of 49.7 million – 16.1 percent of the population. The estimates are well above the numbers released by the Census Bureau in September, that showed 46.2 million people, or 15 percent of the population, was below the poverty line.
The Census Bureau has an “official” estimate for poverty at state levels but yesterday issued its first “supplemental” estimate that is based on a three-year average. Mississippi, to no one’s surprise, had the highest level of households below the poverty line at 17.4 percent, while New Hampshire had the lowest at 5.8 percent. Massachusetts did nominally well, yet 8.3 percent of Bay State families are below the poverty level, ranking us at 13th, while 11.6 percent of individuals are under the threshold, putting us ninth in that category.
The supplemental figures show that medical expenses are the biggest contributor to poverty, followed by work-related expenses such as transportation. Social Security does the most to keep people from falling into poverty, followed by the Earned Income Tax Credit. Programs such as the subsidized school lunch and the welfare reform for temporary assistance do little to keep families heads above water, according to the data.
Drilling down into the numbers shows children under 18 and poor blacks benefit most from the safety net programs while the number of Hispanics in poverty rose to 28 percent under the revised figures. But there is a very troubling aspect for the elderly, whose poverty rate under the “official” estimate is 8.7 percent. Using the supplemental measure, the poverty level for the elderly nearly doubles to 15.1 percent, meaning that Social Security is a lifeline for many. Massachusetts, with its aging population, will need to pay heed to that down the road.
The numbers also bring to light the focus of both political parties on the middle class. President Obama continues to champion tax relief for those in the middle class earning under $250,000 while drawing a line in the sand on reducing tax rates for high earners. Republicans want to maintain the Bush tax cuts for all, saying the higher rates on “job creators” dissuades those in the middle class from trying to advance. The standoff is pushing the country toward the now-infamous fiscal cliff and many of the programs relied upon by the poor would be on the chopping block.
In addition, there is little hope for one in six people in the country to rise out of their economic status and join the middle class. That should be sobering to anyone paying attention to the numbers.
–JACK SULLIVAN
BEACON HILL
In The Bay State Banner, Matthew Segal and Raquel Ronzone of the ACLU of Massachusetts argue that the state drug lab scandal represents a failure in the larger war on drugs and offer three proposals to deal with the fallout in the Bay State.
The first casinos in Massachusetts could open as early as the end of 2015.
The Patrick administration says that if the country goes over the fiscal cliff the state will have to absorb the loss of $300 million in revenue this fiscal year and $1 billion over an entire year, the State House News Service reports (via Lowell Sun).
The Telegram & Gazette assesses Lt. Gov. Tim Murray’s chances in a run for governor, and notes he has $246,165 in his campaign account.
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Keller@Large says Mayor Thomas Menino’s health-related absence from office is starting to scare people. Will Dorcena, who placed a distant sixth in last year’s at-large city council race, throws his hat into the mayor’s race.
The State Ethics Commission fines Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella $4,000 for directing federal block grant funds to a neighbor’s home.
NATIONAL POLITICS/WASHINGTON
Barry Cadden, the co-owner of New England Compounding Center invokes his Fifth Amendment rights and refuses to answer questions at a House oversight committee hearing in Washington. The scandal is raising concerns about possible shortages of drugs that had been supplied by Ameridose, a Westborough-based affiliate of New England Compounding, which has been closed in the wake of revelations of tainted drugs distributed by New England Compounding Center. Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby blames NECC for the deadly meningitis outbreak and downplays regulatory problems, the State House News Service reports (via CommonWealth).
David Petraeus paramour Paula Broadwell did not leave big scholastic footprints at Harvard’s Kennedy School, reports the Globe, and an ethics probe may be launched by King’s College London, where she is now pursuing the doctorate she abandoned at Harvard. A Wall Street Journal report portrays Petraeus as an administration outsider who was uncomfortable in the CIA’s less hierarchical organization, and who clashed with the Pentagon and the State Department over how to respond to the September 11 attacks in Libya.
President Obama huddles with a group of top CEOs.
About 130,000 people remain without power in New York and New Jersey after Sandy.
The Federal Housing Administration nears a federal bailout.
A New York Times op-ed column asks whether President Obama’s reelection will doom the Voting Rights Act.
ELECTION 2012
Mitt Romney, not content to leave his electoral loss alone, tells donors that it stemmed from President Obama providing “gifts” in the form of programs appealing to specific demographics, “especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community and young people.” He cites “free contraceptives” as being “very big with young, college-aged women.” Former Romney aide Kevin Madden tells the Atlantic that, rather than sending presents to constituencies, the president identified his supporters, and got them to the polls. Karl Rove provides a laundry list of things the GOP needs to be better at. Rove’s list includes, but is not limited to, data mining, get-out-the-vote operations, communicating messages, not appearing oafish on social issues, and attracting women, Hispanic, and young voters, among other tasks.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino garnered a lot of credit for his get-out-the-vote effort on behalf of Elizabeth Warren, but CommonWealth’s Paul McMorrow reports the real key for the Senator-elect was the turnout in the Gateway Cities. The Bay State Banner examines the Democratic Party’s get out the vote effort in communities of color on behalf of Warren.
US Rep. John Tierney, in a letter to the Salem News, channels his foe Richard Tisei, saying he and other members of Congress must compromise and work across party lines to find solutions to the nation’s problems.
Former Maine governor Angus King, elected last week as an independent to the US Senate, confirmed what had been widely anticipated: He will caucus with Senate Democrats, giving them a 55-45 edge over Republicans in the incoming Senate.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement fined three New Bedford fish processors for a number of workplace violations including hiring suspected illegal immigrants without proper documentation.
There are some signs of optimism for the coming year among Boston-area small businesses.
Bernard Madoff’’s daughter-in-law fights with the trustee representing Ponzi scheme victims over cash and real estate formerly belonging to Mark Madoff, who committed suicide in 2010.
FISHING
The New England Fisheries Management Council accepted an appeal by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell to reverse a quota on yellowtail flounder that they agreed is based on flawed science.
EDUCATION
The Diman Regional Vocational Technical School Committee will hold a public hearing into the controversial decision to award a five-year, no-termination contract at a closed hearing to the part-time legal counsel for the acclaimed Fall River school. The contract is being challenged in court by the former school committee chairman.
A Newark teachers union approves a contract with merit pay, the Star-Ledger reports.
HEALTH CARE
New research undercuts the view that Lyme disease can be a chronic condition requiring long-term antibiotic treatment, NPR reports (via WBUR).
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a fierce opponent of Obamacare, now wants to talk with the federal government about implementing the measure in his state, the Miami Herald reports.
TRANSPORTATION
State highway officials opened a new salt brine production plant in Bourne to mix a more effective and environmentally friendly road de-icer that will reduce snow removal costs.
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
Brookline votes to ban styrofoam cups and plastic bags, NECN reports.
MEDIA
Boston.com is now letting advertisers write their own blog posts, which are labeled as a “special advertiser feature,” Poynter reports.
Worcester Telegram columnist Dianne Williamson stirs some outcry with a column suggesting why men cheat on their wives.