CNBC: Why The U.S. Can’t End Poverty
17 Friday Mar 2023
17 Friday Mar 2023
27 Friday Nov 2020
During the Great Depression, photographers created riveting images chronicling the desperation of those times. Pictures helped mold the nation’s collective memory and conscience. Seventy years later, the plight and potential of the least fortunate members of our communities is mostly unseen and ignored, and photographers are once again poised to jump-start a national conversation about the issue of poverty.
AmericanPoverty.org is a non-profit alliance of photojournalists using visual storytelling to raise awareness about “how the other half lives.” Joining us are renowned American writers, filmmakers and educators, all of whom seek to alleviate poverty and make it a national priority. Together we are working to dispel stereotypes and encourage actions that can create lasting impact in the lives of disadvantaged people.
The photo “Migrant Mother” was one of thousands of pictures Dorothea Lange took on assignment for the federal government, documenting the poverty of the Dust Bowl. Before it had that iconic title, the 1936 photo was captioned “Destitute peapickers in California.” For more about Dorothea Lange and this image check out Studio 360.
11 Saturday May 2019
During the Great Depression, photographers created riveting images chronicling the desperation of those times. Pictures helped mold the nation’s collective memory and conscience. Seventy years later, the plight and potential of the least fortunate members of our communities is mostly unseen and ignored, and photographers are once again poised to jump-start a national conversation about the issue of poverty.
AmericanPoverty.org is a non-profit alliance of photojournalists using visual storytelling to raise awareness about “how the other half lives.” Joining us are renowned American writers, filmmakers and educators, all of whom seek to alleviate poverty and make it a national priority. Together we are working to dispel stereotypes and encourage actions that can create lasting impact in the lives of disadvantaged people.
The photo “Migrant Mother” was one of thousands of pictures Dorothea Lange took on assignment for the federal government, documenting the poverty of the Dust Bowl. Before it had that iconic title, the 1936 photo was captioned “Destitute peapickers in California.” For more about Dorothea Lange and this image check out Studio 360.
02 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted Research
inU.S. poverty (less than $17,916 for a family of three): 46.2 million people, 15.1 percent.
Children in poverty: 16.1 million, 22 percent of all children, including 39 percent of African-American children and 34 percent of Latino children. Poorest age group in country.
Deep poverty (less than $11,510 for a family of four): 20.4 million people, 1 in 15 Americans, including more than 15 million women and children
People who would have been in poverty if not for Social Security, 2011: 67.6 million
(program kept 21.4 million people out of poverty)
People in the U.S. experiencing poverty by age 65: Roughly half
Gender gap, 2011: Women 34 percent more likely to be poor than men
Gender gap, 2010: Women 29 percent more likely to be poor than men
Twice the poverty level (less than $46,042 for a family of four): 106 million people, more than 1 in 3 Americans
Jobs in the U.S. paying less than $34,000 a year: 50 percent
Jobs in the U.S. paying below the poverty line for a family of four, less than $23,000 annually: 25 percent
Poverty-level wages, 2011: 28 percent of workers
Percentage of individuals and family members in poverty who either worked or lived with a working family member, 2011: 57 percent
Families receiving cash assistance, 1996: 68 for every 100 families living in poverty
Families receiving cash assistance, 2010: 27 for every 100 families living in poverty
Impact of public policy, 2010: Without government assistance, poverty would have been twice as high — nearly 30 percent of population
Percentage of entitlement benefits going to elderly, disabled or working households: Over 90 percent.
Number of homeless children in U.S. public schools: 1,065,794
Annual cost of child poverty nationwide: $550 billion
Federal expenditures on home ownership mortgage deductions, 2012: $131 billion
Federal funding for low-income housing assistance programs, 2012: Less than $50 billion