The gulf between rich and poor in the United States is yawning wider than ever, and the number of extremely impoverished is at a three-decade high, a report out Saturday found.
Based on the latest available US census data from 2005, the McClatchy Newspapers analysis found that almost 16 million Americans live in "deep or severe poverty" defined as a family of four with two children earning less than 9,903 dollars -- one half the federal poverty line figure.
For individuals the "deep poverty" threshold was an income under 5,080 dollars a year.
Meanwhile, Israel will get an increase in its aid from the U.S., even tho it's economy has strengthened:Israel, U.S. to Discuss New Aid Program
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel and the United States will hold talks this week on formulating a new annual U.S. aid package, the Israeli Finance Ministry said on Sunday.
Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer and Finance Ministry Director-General Yarom Ariav will head the Israeli delegation to Washington. The Israeli team also will include senior officials from the Foreign Ministry and military.
Israel receives about $2.4 billion a year in mostly military aid from the United States. Most of that is spent on U.S. military equipment.
The two countries agreed a 10-year deal in 1998, under which U.S. military aid would rise by $60 million a year while economic assistance would be reduced by $120 million a year until 2008.
In 1998, Israel received aid of about $3 billion a year from the United States -- $1.8 billion in military assistance and $1.2 billion for civilian needs.
Israel's economy has strengthened, growing by about 5 percent for the past three years, with a fourth year of 5 percent growth forecast for 2007.
Link to whole article here: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2007-02-25T130819Z_01_L25492674_RTRUKOC_0_US-ISRAEL-US-AID.xml&src=rssBack in Washington:
Record Number in U.S. Relying on Aid
WASHINGTON - The welfare state is bigger than ever despite a decade of policies designed to wean poor people from public aid.
The number of families receiving cash benefits from welfare has plummeted since the government imposed time limits on the payments a decade ago. But other programs for the poor, including Medicaid and food stamps, are bursting with new enrollees.
The result, according to an Associated Press analysis: Nearly one in six people relies on some form of public assistance, a larger share than at any time since the government started measuring two decades ago.
Link to article here:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0226welfare0226.html
No comments:
Post a Comment