We all thought we knew who is poor in America. Children, especially in one-parent households. Racial minorities. Families who aren't able to participate in the great American dream of home ownership. Really? The Census Bureau's new Supplementary Poverty Measure (SPM) erodes all of these stereotypes. They still contain some truth, but less than it seemed. No matter who you are, you cannot dismiss income insecurity as a problem that doesn't threaten people just like you.
The news does not come without warning. The official 2010 poverty figures, released in September, already showed a record high poverty rate for working-age Americans—some 13.7 percent, up from 12.9 percent in 2009, itself a record. Now the new SPM shows that official figures understate the problem. Why, and what does it mean? READ MORE >>>>
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