Could you live on $5,080 a year?
That's what is considered "severe poverty" for an individual. A family of four with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 is considered severely poor.Across Florida, the number of people living in severe poverty -- with income levels at or below half of the federal poverty line -- has increased 9.7%, from 859,888 in 2000 to 943,670 in 2005, according to new census data.*
The percentage of poor Americans who are living in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen.
Read the Bradenton Herald report here. And if you’re having trouble picturing life on $424 a month, I recommend John Scalzi’s wrenching blog post, Being Poor.
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* The Bush administration has proposed eliminating the Census' Survey of Income and Program Participation, so that nosy researchers can no longer figure out stuff like this. Read more at The Plank and Grasping Reality with Both Hands.
posted by Jacqueline Dowd @ 2:31 PM
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