Census Data - Poverty

In July 2006 the United States Census Bureau released new data that showed that things are not getting any better for the poor. The Bureau reported that no significant change in the number of Americans living in poverty between 2004 and 2005. It also reported the following:

This is the first year since 2000 that the number of Americans living in poverty did not increase.

While the level of poverty remained the same between 2004 and 2005, the new data showed an increase in the gap between wealthy and poor Americans.

The data showed an increase in the number of Americans without health coverage. Over 46 million Americans were uninsured in 2005, an increase of 1.3 million from 2004.

The percentage of Americans without health care coverage also rose from15.6 percent in 2004 to 15.9 percent in 2005

The number of children who are uninsured rose from 7.9 million in 2004 to 8.3 million in 2005.

The percentage of Americans with private health insurance declined to 59.5.percent in 2005- compared to 62.6 percent in 2001.