Poverty predicted to rise

Robert Greenstein, Founder and Executive Director of the research organization The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, announced the center’s predictions on the recent economic crisis’ impact on poverty in the U.S.

“With unemployment projected to reach 9%, the number of people in poverty will rise by between 7.5 and 10.3 million. The number of poor children will increase by between 2.6 and 3.3 million,” said Greenstein during a telephone conference.

The center also predicted an increase in 4.5-6.3 million of those within “deep” poverty, wherein people live below half of the poverty line, marked at around 8,300 dollars a year for a family of three.

“The number of children living in deep poverty will rise between 1.5 and 2 million,” said Greenstein.

Greenstein warned that the center’s predictions may be too hopeful since the economic safety nets provided in previous recessions for the very poorest citizens have been eroded as a result of massive cuts in unemployment insurance and other assistance programs.

According to Greenstein, there are several steps that policy makers can take to mitigate these predictions.

“Helping struggling families is among the most effective stimulus measures that can be taken on a dollar for dollar basis because it [puts] resources in the hands of people who are most likely to spend all of those resources rather than saving them,” said Greenstein.