Poverty Rate Hits Record 49.1 Million, Revised Census Formula Shows

When are we going to be embarrassed by these numbers. I do not understand how this continues to happen in the richest country in the world. I hope our Congress gets their act together and start to put people before party and politics.

The ranks of America's poor are greater than previously known, reaching a new level of 49.1 million - or 16 percent - due to rising medical costs and other expenses that make it harder for people to stay afloat, according to new census estimates.

The numbers released Monday are part of a first-ever supplemental poverty measure aimed at providing a fuller picture of poverty. It is considered experimental and does not replace the Census Bureau's official poverty formula, which continues to determine eligibility and distribution of billions of dollars in federal aid for the poor.

Based on the revised formula, the number of poor people exceeds the record 46.2 million, or 15.1 percent, that was officially reported in September.

Broken down by groups, Americans 65 or older sustained the largest increases in poverty under the revised poverty formula - nearly doubling to 15.9 percent, or 1 in 6 - because of medical expenses that are not accounted for in the official rate. Those include rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and expenses for prescription drugs.

Read more at source