Actually, the news about the census data showing more people are in poverty than thought and that millions more are in poverty than previously believed is a misnomer . . . see http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_census_poverty . . . this is really about an accounting issue on how to count government help and the like . . . something that is far less important than the fact that the poverty level has skyrocketed and that the numbers would have been even higher if the government had not provided a number of benefits during the economic crisis . . . many of those programs that have kept many out of poverty are at risk.

If your nation is supposed to be one of the most developed on the planet, it’s pretty hard to keep saying that with a straight face if one in six . . . yes, ONE IN SIX of your fellow Americans are living in poverty. Granted, there are plenty of places on the planet where the poverty rate is much much worse . . . where more than half or even the vast majority of folks are just scraping by, but those places don’t purport to lead the world and don’t beat the drums on so-called universal prosperity. Many Americans aren’t even aware of just how many of their fellow travelers are poor, really poor.

– Brian