Congressman Moran's
News Commentary:

This week, the Census Bureau released its annual poverty, income and health insurance report. The announcement brought news that these indicators of the country’s prosperity are unfortunately moving in the wrong direction, with lower and middle class families being hit the hardest.

For the fourth year in a row, the number of people without health insurance rose. Nationwide, an additional 860,000 people joined the ranks of the uninsured in 2004, bringing the total to over 46 million. That’s a staggering figure. What’s most troubling perhaps is that there are no real discussions taking place on how to reduce this number. Every year, people are being forced to pay more and more for less and less care. It is evident that our country’s healthcare system is broken. Until we start the repair process, these figures will only increase.

Another indicator studied by the Census Bureau report is poverty, which increased in the U.S. for the fourth straight year. More than 1.1 million people fell out of the middle class into poverty in 2004, totaling 5.4 million people during the past four years. Last year, 17.8 percent of America ’s children were living in poverty. Minorities disproportionately fall below the poverty level, with 25 percent of all African Americans and 22 percent of all Hispanic Americans landing in this category.

The third category considered by the Census report may be indicative of the rise in the two previous figures. The Census report found that the amount of income earned by American families fell again in 2004. Median household income has fallen $1,669 in the past four years. That number may not be overwhelming, but considering inflation and the rising cost of health insurance, the end result is a much greater net loss. Households in middle income brackets have lost 4 percent of their income and lower income bracket households have lost 7.9 percent of their income. Minorities have felt these reductions especially hard, with African American homes inflation-adjusted income falling by $2,273 and Hispanic American homes inflation-adjusted income falling by $2,141 in the past four years.

Clearly, as evidenced by the Census Bureau’s report, we have a lot of work to do to get this country back on the right track. I continue to be troubled by the Administration’s preoccupation with upper income Americans while lower and middle income families face the brunt of the economic sacrifices. The Census Bureau’s report should be studied closely by policymakers in Washington . With a long Labor Day weekend ahead of them, they should have plenty of time to ponder how we go about getting our nation back moving in a prosperous direction.