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Poverty

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reportJul 8, 2015

A Global Middle Class Is More Promise than Reality

The first decade of this century witnessed an historic reduction in global poverty and a near doubling of the number of people who could be considered middle income. But the emergence of a truly global middle class is still far from fruition.
short readsSep 16, 2014

Public is sharply divided in views of Americans in poverty

Poverty is an issue that deeply divides the American public when it comes to how much of a role government should play in alleviating the problems of the poor.
short readsJun 13, 2014

One-in-four Native Americans and Alaska Natives are living in poverty

On his visit to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota today, President Obama is using his first stop at a Native American reservation while in office to highlight the challenges Native Americans face. In an op-ed published in Indian Country Today, Obama called the poverty and high school dropout rates among Native Americans […]
reportApr 29, 2014

2012, Hispanics in the United States Statistical Portrait

*Visit the most recent data. This statistical profile of the Latino population is based on Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey (ACS). Users should exercise caution when comparing the 2012 estimates with estimates for previous years. Population estimates in the 2012 ACS are based on the […]
reportApr 29, 2014

2012, Foreign-Born Population in the United States Statistical Portrait

*Visit the most recent data. This statistical profile of the foreign-born population is based on Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey (ACS). Users should exercise caution when comparing the 2012 estimates with estimates for previous years. Population estimates in the 2012 ACS are based on the […]
short readsFeb 18, 2014

Minimum wage hasn’t been enough to lift most out of poverty for decades

The current federal minimum wage falls below the poverty threshold for most households. A new CBO report says raising the minimum will increase income for millions of low-wage workers but cost thousands their jobs.
short readsJan 29, 2014

Inequality, poverty divide Republicans more than Democrats

There are wide gaps between conservative and centrist Republicans on whether the government should do something to reduce poverty and inequality.
short readsJan 13, 2014

Who’s poor in America? 50 years into the ‘War on Poverty,’ a data portrait

The War on Poverty was arguably the most ambitious domestic policy initiative since the Great Depression. But the overall effectiveness of the War on Poverty remains hotly debated.
short readsSep 18, 2013

Four takeaways from Tuesday’s Census income and poverty release

On Tuesday the Census Bureau released its annual trove of data on income, poverty and health insurance in 2012. Here were some of the key findings on household income: New data show that median household income has stagnated for the longest period since the government began collecting such data in 1967. In 2012 the median […]
short readsAug 28, 2013

King’s “I have a dream” speech, by the numbers

Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech 50 years ago today on Washington D.C.’s National Mall and Memorial Parks has become one of the most famous, and quoted, pieces of oratory in U.S. history (though that wasn’t apparent to everyone at the time). But how well have the aspirations King so memorably expressed been realized? We ran […]