Obamanomics--Poverty

Liberals in general, and President Obama in particular, have long had a soft-spot in their hearts for the poor.

I respect this immensely, and share their concern.

Following the passage of the "stimulus package" in February of 2009, President Obama promised that the package would lift 2 million people from poverty. (See HERE)

Who wouldn't have wanted to see that happen?

However, the following year this was reported: "2010 U.S. Census data...showed that 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty. Worse still, child poverty has increased, rising to 21.6 percent. Many middle class Americans, unable to find work or decent wages, have fallen below the poverty line in recent years. It's the most tragic cost of this prolonged economic nightmare." (See HERE) "The poverty rate in 2010 was the highest poverty rate since 1993." (See HERE and HERE) This occurred in spite of: "Demos estimates that 40 million Americans were kept out of poverty due to food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, Medicaid, and other programs in 2010." (See HERE) "In 2010, 46.2 million people in the US were living in poverty and the nation’s official poverty rate was 15 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009, according to the US Census Bureau. That figure appears to be the highest number seen in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been recorded." (See HERE)

Two years after President Obama promised to take 2 million people off the poverty rolls, things didn't improve. "In 2011 extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children. This would be roughly 1.2% of the US population in 2011." (See HERE)

The last year of Obama's first term wasn't any better. "In November 2012 the U.S. Census Bureau said more than 16% of the population lived in poverty in the United States, including almost 20% of American children...Poverty rates remain high among children in the United States and continue to affect their health, education and safety, a new federal report shows. 'Nearly a quarter of children in the United States are living in poverty.'" (See HERE)

To summarize, in 2009 there were 43.6 million people in the U.S. living below the poverty level, or 14.3 percent of the population. (See HERE)  Whereas, in 2012, "there were nearly 50 million Americans, more than 16 percent of the population...struggling to survive." (See HERE)

By my calculation, this means that instead of the 2009 "stimulus package" lifting 2 million people out of poverty as promised by President Obama, there was the Leftist LUNC where greater than 6 million more people fell into poverty during his first term. (See HERE and HERE and HERE) And, poverty is poised to rise to its highest level since the 60's. (See HERE)

Or, in shorts, Obamanomics resulted in Trickle-Up Poverty.

[Update 7/26/15: Three Million More Children in Poverty Under Obama]

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For an explanation as to why this Leftist LUNC has occurred, please see: Gov: Wrong Tool for the Right Job - Strength in Numbers and Cold Nanny,, and  The Politics of Compassion, Emotions, Ignorance, Denial, Blame-Shifting, The Politics of Spending--Intro, The Politics of Spending--Debt, The Politics of Spending--Public vs. Private, The Politics of Spending--Crony-ism, The Politics of Spending--Education, and The Politics of Taxing the Rich. [the unlinked topics will be posted later as they are completed]