Cost of Living and Poverty Level

The New York Times has a good article about how much it costs to have a basic standard of living and how it compares to the Federal poverty level. Simply, the gap is huge. Considering 14% of Americans are at or below the Federal Poverty level, the percentage of those not able to have a basic standard of living is substantial. The chart below breaks down the difference between the two.

Poverty Rate is up - highest since 1994

The new poverty rate numbers are out - and the news is bleak. While the unemployment numbers are depressing, the poverty numbers show the real brutal reality of this recession. The hard truth, 14.3% of the the America population is living under the poverty line. That is one in seven people. For children, one in five live in poverty. The time in poverty will scar people's lives for years. Keep in mind, these are the 2009 numbers. 2010 will most likely be worse. Here is the article from the New York Times. This is the graphic to go with it: