Just morbid curiosity, but is poverty in America still defined as a condition of living where the government pays for your education, medicine, doctor visits, emergency room visits, housing, food, etc. and that you may own cars, vcr’s, cell phones (I don't even have one), big screen tv’s (not one of those either)...etc. ????
In this case the long-term unemployed who have run out of benefits and are still unable to find jobs are probably the cause of the increase.
The governments bragging that new claims for unemployment dropped TO 450 THOUSAND....JUST LAST WEEK!
In an economy where there are few jobs, that’s a catastrophe. It also means that the long-term unemployed have given up.
Poverty is whatever the government in its infinite wisdom defines it to be. It is instructive to read details in the 2000 census about how many'poverty stricken' people own houses, cars, satellite TV, air conditioning etc. By moving the $ number up or down, the government can move people in and out of poverty at will. The poverty numbers are rubbish.
It probably includes illegal aliens, too. But, not to worry. Harry Reid has the Dream Act appended to the Defense appropriations bill, and John McCain is threatening a filibuster (to last at least 1 hour of on camera time for McVain). These 2 partners in crime have it all planned out.