CNN International reporting new poverty figures as bad news for Bush --

[DeepModem Mom]

Any domestic TV reporting about this? Is it seen as having political ramifications? Do you think anybody cares?

Link to online story:

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/US/08/26/census.poverty.ap/index.html

Census: More Americans living in poverty
Number of uninsured also rises
Thursday, August 26, 2004 Posted: 1627 GMT (0027 HKT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year, while the ranks of the uninsured swelled by 1.4 million, the Census Bureau reported Thursday.

It was the third straight annual increase for both categories. While not unexpected, it was a double dose of bad economic news during a tight re-election campaign for President Bush.

Approximately 35.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2003, or about 12.5 percent of the population, according to the bureau. That was up from 34.5 million, or 12.1 percent in 2002.

The rise was more dramatic for children. There were 12.9 million living in poverty last year, or 17.6 percent of the under-18 population. That was an increase of about 800,000 from 2002, when 16.7 percent of all children were in poverty....

[ewagner]

1. Just watched CNN

for about 15 minutes....

Not. A. Peep.

[kwolf68]

2. Nothing to see here ...

Please move along. Bush is God's chosen man...These problems are not really problems...they are just sacremongering to appeal to wild-eyed Liberals. To prove it, after the Republican National Convention all delegates will take a swim in the nearest lake with a sign posted that says, "Due to large contaminants of toxins do not swim here or you will die."

[mediaman007]

3. CNN•USA is probably trying to find an angle that benefits the Shrub...

Just give Bill Schneider and Candy Crowley a hour or so and the White House will help them out.

[DeepModem Mom]

5. Waiting for their phone call, I suppose, or calling the # Dole let slip --

n/t

[frylock]

11. construction of new workhouses and debtor's prisons is up..

proving that the bush economy is creating jobs.

[realFedUp]

4. Sexy David Sirota just said

that Bush's head of the Census decided
that the Census should come out now
coz numbers aren't good and maybe people,
on vacation, won't pay attention or forget
before the election. You know....never
release a new product in August...

makes sense to me.

[realFedUp]

6. .pdf of Census report- Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage

http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/p60-226.pdf

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks realFedUp -- I'll take a look. I must admit I had no idea --

of the extent of poverty in the U.S. I hadn't thought about it in a while. I do remember that John Edwards is the first politician in a long time to address the issue consistently in his speeches.

[realFedUp]

13. sure

I hope someone breaks this down into a short
e-mail size memo....

[Doctor_J]

8. 12%?!?!?

that is a real feat. Someone make sure that *'s resume gets updated...

[jefferson_dem]

9. Moreover, i just heard that jobless claims

were up much higher than expected last week. Watch next week for the Aug monthly jobs report. That'll set the unavoidable tone as we march down the homestretch.

[DeepModem Mom]

10. Hi, jefferson_dem -- welcome to DU!

[TahitiNut]

12. An increased percentage of an increased population, every year ...

... of the Busholini Regime. When will it be time for pitchforks and scythes?

[obiwan]

14. Tell me about it...

I have two degrees, am Phi Theta Kappa, and I've been out of work for over a year. My unemployment ran out months ago. If it wasn't for my mother in law, I'd lose my house and car and would be living in a box somewhere. God Bless America.

[Sugarbleus]

16. Welcome to DU obiwan... My daughter works next to a person in

your shoes at Home Depot *cough*. She says it's unbelieveable what work IS NOT OUT THERE. My daugher just started college; I hope the employment climate will have changed significantly by the time she's finished.

Much better luck to you soon.. Peace

[obiwan]

17. Thanks Sugarbleus...

Now that's GENUINE compassion. Much appreciated.

It's like the Bedouin hunkered down with his camel in a raging sandstorm... "This too will pass."

[jwirr]

15. Stats on Unemployment

How do they figure the number of unemployed? Is it only those who are collecting unemployment or is it the ones who go into an Unemployment Office to sign up for work? If it is the latter then every unemployed or underemployed worker in the United States should go in every week to sign up until Nov. 2. Bush keeps sighting his good economy simply because his rich friends are doing okay. When asked about unemployment he tries to tell us it is not as bad as reported. Let's give him some figures that reflect the truth.

[obiwan]

18. Factoids

Some interesting factoids:

January 20, 2001 (Chimpy's inaugural)
Dow Jones Industrial Average
10587.6

U.S. Population
281.4million

Employed persons
(Age 16 and older) 137,790,000

Unemployed Persons
(Age 16 and older) 5.997 Million

GDP 2001
$10.128 Trillion

Defense Budget (2001)
302.58 Billion
As % of GDP 33.5%

Education Budget (2001)
40.1 Billion
As % of GDP 2.53%

Budget Surplus 2001
$235 Billion


August 12, 2004

Dow Jones Industrial Average
9814.59 (-7.3%)

U.S. Population 293 million (+4.1%)

Employed persons
(Age 16 and older) 139,966,000 (+1.3%)

Unemployed Persons
(Age 16 and older) 8.196 Million (+26.2%)

GDP 2003
$11.004 Trillion (+8.6%)

Defense Budget (2003)
$365.97 Billion (+20.9%)
As % of GDP 30.6%

Education Budget (2003)
$50.31 Billion (+25.4%)
As % of GDP 2.19%

Cumulative National Deficit
Est. $989 Billion (FY2002-2004)

Not to mention the few jobs being generated, which on average pay $9,000 less than the jobs they replaced.

Or the $200 Billion we have squandered in Iraq.

Yessir- the economy is strong and getting stronger!

Sources:
White House FY2001 & FY2004 budgets
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Office of Management and Budget