The Census Bureau’s report titled Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008 contains information on the poverty rates and total persons in poverty for several races. The races are self-defined by the individuals surveyed, and by the Census Bureau in standard terms that may not be helpful in studying this topic.

Hispanics are listed as “of any race”. Blacks have been categorized in two differing ways, Black Alone and Black Alone or in Combination. Let’s look at how the two definitions for Black in the report compare for 2008.

	Alone	Combo	Diff
Population	37,966,000	40,097,000	2,131,000
In poverty	9,379,000	9,882,000	503,000
	24.7%	24.6%
Female head of hshld in pov	5,533,000	5,782,000	249,000
	60.0%	58.5%

However you define Black, these numbers are well above those for the entire population. Still, it is a matter of perspective. For the purposes of this post, the numbers graphed are from the Black alone category. Click on the graph for a larger image.

It is very clear that black poverty rates in the United States are near record lows. Other than 1999 through 2001, they would be a record low. The Clinton bubble drove the rates to unheard of lows, but the bursting of that bubble seems to have revealed a core poverty rate that seems inflexible, somewhere between 24-25% of the total Black population.

Let’s look at one facet of Black poverty that is often cited as significant, single parent, female head of household. For the purposes of this post, the numbers graphed are from the Black alone category. Click on the graph for a larger image.

Rates are at near historical lows, but appear to be edging upward, advancing from 37% to 40% in the last eight years. Still, the 2008 is lower than any rate from 1999 on back.

Again, the numbers suggest a core of Black people in poverty, in this case people living in single parent households headed by a female.

It is the people who are in permanent poverty, the core, that ought to worry Americans. The data appears to suggest that despite some of the best economies of the last several generations, a group of Blacks failed to benefit from the successes. Single family households seem to be at the center of this, accounting for nearly 2/3 of those in core poverty.

The series on the 2009 report begins with Poverty in America 2009 – Overview The series on the 2010 report begins with Poverty in America – the Quick Take.

The Census Bureau has released its report titled: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. The release of the report was delayed by about a month by the administration.

Highlights

• The official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This was the first statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004, when poverty increased to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003.
• In 2008, 39.8 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 — the second consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
• In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (8.6 percent in 2008 — up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008 — up from 10.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008 — up from 21.5 percent in 2007). Poverty rates in 2008 were statistically unchanged for Blacks (24.7 percent).
• The poverty rate in 2008 (13.2 percent) was the highest poverty rate since 1997 but was 9.2 percentage points lower than in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available.
• Since 1960, the number of people below poverty has not exceeded the 2008 figure of 39.8 million people.^[1]
• The poverty rate increased for children under 18 years old (19.0 percent in 2008 — up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 years old (11.7 percent in 2008 — up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 65 years and over (9.7 percent).^[2]

Some comparisons are called for since year over year numbers can be a bit misleading.

Here is a comparison of the poverty rates by term for recent Presidents.

TERM	AVG % ALL	AVG % FAMILIES
Reagan I	14.7	13.3
Reagan II	13.5	12.0
Bush 41	13.8	12.4
Clinton I	14.3	12.8
Clinton II	12.3	10.7
Bush 43 I	12.3	10.5
Bush 43 II	12.7	10.9

 

Click on the graph for a larger image.

In 1981, 30% of Americans earned under $25,000 a year, and 41% earned over $50,000 per year. In 2008, 25% earned under $25,000 and 50% earned over $50,000 a year.

The remaining entries in the series will explore poverty in the elderly, the black and Hispanic community and the issue of wage parity between men and women.

Remember how old people used to get by on cans of cat food? Well, at least under George Bush, things are better than that. The poverty rate for people over 65 was at a record low in 2006, 9.4%, and is at its second lowest for 2007, 9.7%.

Looking at the graph, do you suppose that the crisis with the elderly may have been exaggerated? It appears that, in the post-industrial economy, the poverty rate for the elderly seems to hover around 10%. That may be a baseline given all the factors that go into that rate. The drop from 15% to 10% took about 20 years. Another drop of one third could be possible, 10 to 7%, but we are a decade at about 10%.

On the other end of the spectrum, children living in poverty is at 18%, the highest rate since 1998. That stat is driven by a black children’s poverty rate of 34.5% and a Hispanic rate of 28.6%. 4.5 million Hispanic children live in poverty and 3.9 million black children. 13.3 million children of all races live in poverty with the vast majority being black and Hispanic.

American women reached record wage parity with men in 2007. Women earned 77.8 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Click on graph for larger image.

Bill Clinton averaged a parity of 72.6% for his first seven years. George Bush has averaged 76.7%. Of Bush’s seven years in office, four set new, all-time highs for wage parity between the sexes.

Click on a graph to see an enlarged image.

INCOME LEVELS	2007	2000	1991
Black – over $25K	61.6%	61.0%	51.7%
Black – over $50K	34.3%	32.2%	24.5%
Hispanic – over $25K	69.3%	67.4%	60.4%
Hispanic – over $50K	38.4%	35.6%	28.7%

Clearly the earnings of both blacks and Hispanics over the last 17 years has improved significantly, with more of each population moving in to higher income levels.

The average income for all blacks in 2007 was $46,631. This is the third highest average in history, exceeded only by the years 1999 and 2000.

The average income for Hispanics in 2007 was $50,828. While it is lower than last year’s all-time record, it is higher than all years preceding 2000.

POVERTY LEVELS	2007	2000	1991
Black	24.5%	22.5%	32.7%
Hispanic	21.5%	20.6%	28.7%

The graphs show that the poverty rate for both minorities is at near record lows. For blacks, only three Clinton years and three Bush years are lower.

A similar pattern appears in the graph of the Hispanic poverty rate. 2006 had the lowest Hispanic poverty rate on record.