ABSTRACT
The poverty rate in the United States increased from 11.3% in 2000 to 15.1% in 2010. 2 The increase in poverty during 2000–10 is in exact contrast to the previous decade, where poverty systematically reduced from a peak of 15.1% in 1993 to 11.3% in 2000. In 2011, 46.2 million persons were estimated to have income below the official poverty line. Since 2006, when the poverty rate stood at 12.3% (most recent low), the number of poor has increased by 9.7 million. Also, the 46.2 million persons counted as poor in both 2010 and 2011 are the largest numbers counted in the measure’s recorded history, going as far back as 1959 (Gabe, 2012). Though the rise in poverty during the last decade is a phenomenon in itself which needs to be investigated, a more interesting and pressing enquiry would be to look into how poverty among different socio-economic groups has changed during the past decade and the associated reasons behind the changes. Just to make a case: poverty rates for Blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average; in 2011, 27.6% of Blacks and 25.3% of Hispanics were poor, compared to only 9.8% of the non-Hispanic Whites and 12.3% of Asians.
