Sheldon Danziger spoke to a number of news outlets following the release of the U.S. Census Bureau's annual poverty report. The report, detailing figures from 2010, showed an increase in the poverty rate to 15.1 percent (up from 14.3 percent in 2009)--the highest level in 17 years.
Joblessness, low wages, increased cost of living, and the sagging U.S. economy are all reasons why many groups of Americans are struggling. Specifically hard-hit are children, Hispanics, and working males.
The Census report also stated that 3.2 million people were on unemployment insurance in 2010. Danziger told MLive that the unemployment rate is forecasted to stay above 8 percent through 2014. "This means that those who get laid off will need to rely on further federal unemployment insurance extensions. If Congress doesn't pass the American Jobs Act proposed last week by the President and if it begins to cut back on the programs that benefit the working poor and the unemployed, the situation will get even worse," Danziger said.
Read more:
- NPR
- Chicago Tribune
- Boston Globe
- LA Times
- Detroit News
- MLive
- New York Times