US poverty will rise to 1960s levels soon

The United States is quickly turning into a second-rate western civilization with the poverty rate growing to levels not seen since the 1960s.

The war on poverty launched by Lyndon Johnson in the mid-60s will be all for nothing in the coming years. Lyndon Johnson’s programs created Medicaid, Medicare and other social welfare programs to help prop up the poor. Today, the great recession and the deep cuts in government social safety nets have the poverty rate growing rapidly.

A Federal Reserve released in June concluded the average U.S. family wealth declined by 40% from 2007-2010. The median family wealth dropped from $126,400 to $77,300. The biggest age group hit hardest, in percentage terms, was young middle-age families. These families between the ages of 35 to 44 year-olds saw their median net worth drop by 54% to $42,100. Seniors were protected by Social Security program, so they didn’t see a significant lose in wealth.

Globalization has really changed the game in our poverty rate. Businesses can now outsource their work to cheaper labor around the world. Globalization has caused countries with a comparative advantage in certain good and services to persuade businesses to outsource their work to these countries. This business practice has decimated small towns in the U.S. People can’t find good-paying jobs to keep their families above the poverty rate. In the next few years, the poverty rate will rise to record levels caused by Congress lack of concern for poverty. Once the unemployment insurance runs out, deep cuts at the federal level to other social programs and static wage growth then the poverty rate will skyrocket.

A shocking number is the growing poverty rate in the suburbs. People moved the suburb to get away from the poverty in the inner city, but the suburban poverty rate is at a record level of 11.8%. This rate will continue to rise due to foreclosures and weak wage growth. Suburbs is now the new face of poverty.

No one is hurt more by poverty then children. Child poverty will increase from its 22% levels. More and more children will continue to suffer from starvation and with the lack of quality schools this could continue into the next generation.

U.S. politicians continue to tell its people the country is not in decline but the numbers don’t lie. The people feel the decline and the lack of hope for the future of their children. Poverty causes hopelessness, depression, violence and divorce. A country can’t survive with a high-poverty rate, and the people are begging for Congress to do something.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if your Democrat or Republican because we’re all Americans. People have to remember; Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it did fall in one day. Well, it didn’t really fall in one day but the world did change in that one day.