The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office. The 14.3 percent poverty rate, which covers all ages, was the highest since 1994. Still, it was lower than estimates of many demographers, who were bracing for a record gain based on last year's skyrocketing unemployment. Many had predicted a range of 14.7 percent to 15 percent. The working poor is truly the working poor. This is an interesting time to release these figures, particularly with elections around the corner. President Obama will take the brunt of the hit on these figures, but let's hope that voters have a long memory instead of a short one.
Read more at The Washington Post.