Census figures out this week tell us one in seven Americans is living in poverty. That's the highest number in half a century, representing 43.6 million people. Even worse, of those in poverty, one in five is a child.
These shockingly high numbers didn't come as a shock to everyone. In a Washington Post story today, nonprofit workers said they sounded about right: "In the decade I've been doing this work, this is a low point," said Jason Perkins-Cohen, executive director of the Job Opportunities Task Force in Baltimore. "We're getting a real feeling of desperation. For sheer numbers, it's a new, unhappy world."
