Trump’s stimulus plans rescued nearly 8.5 million Americans from poverty international

Poverty generally declined in 2020 in the United States as a result of massive stimulus plans and unemployment benefits. The Donald Trump Administration’s response to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression prevented large sections of the population from sinking into poverty, although the index rose slightly to 11.4%. ‘last year. Government aid against the pandemic lowered that index to 9.1%, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The rapid response of Congress, and the extension of unemployment benefits, were a lifesaver for low-income Americans, a success that, according to the White House, endorses the ambitious aid plan that now President Joe Biden intends to move forward.

Compared to the year before the pandemic, the average income of households in 2020 fell by 2.9%, due to the negative consequences in the labor market and the cessation of economic activity due to confinement. It was the first “statistically significant” reduction in average household income since 2011, according to the Census Bureau’s own assessment.

This decrease led to a temporary increase in the poverty rate in 2020: about 3.3 million more than the previous year, reaching a total of 37.2 million people. However, thanks to aid and subsidies distributed by the Government since March 2020, when the pandemic began, the so-called supplementary measure of poverty was reduced to 9.1% last year, compared to 11, 8% by 2019. Nearly 8.5 million people came out of poverty, an unprecedented success in a single year largely attributable to federal government stimuli.

Among the stimulus package approved as an anti-pandemic shock plan is the injection of $ 1,200 checks for the low-income population. According to the Office, these checks lifted 11.7 million people out of poverty by 2020 and prevented another 5.5 million Americans from falling into it. Poverty is defined as an annual income of less than $ 26,200 for a family of four. In 2020, the average household income was $ 67,521, about 2,000 less than in 2019.

As the economy recovers, the White House is confident that more Americans will be able to find well-paid jobs that will keep them afloat. But deep inequalities persist and there are worrying signs that the recovery could stall, starting with the slowdown in job creation in August or the ravages of the delta variant of the coronavirus, with 150,000 cases a day. Black and Hispanic women continue to lag behind in recovery, along with less skilled workers. The highest level of poverty occurred among the African American population, with 19.5%, followed by Hispanics, with 17%, and the white population, with 8.2%. Thus, while households in the Asian community recorded an average income of $ 94,900, followed by non-Hispanic whites (74,900), African Americans and Hispanics fell below the national median income, with 45,900 and $ 55,300, respectively.

The positive effect of government aid as a mattress for the lower-income population supports, according to the White House, the ambitious social assistance plan of President Biden, which with an investment of 3.5 trillion dollars aims expand the fight against poverty by expanding social coverage, with measures such as universal preschool education, higher child tax relief, paid leave or expansion of Medicare programs, public social security coverage for people over 65, and Medicaid, for people without resources. Good data from the federal lifeline in 2020 are for the White House the best example of how additional resources can make a substantial difference between poverty reduction and even more pronounced inequality. The White House’s stubbornness, however, is not without its pitfalls, the first of which is the resistance of some moderate Democrats to supporting such a colossal investment, for fear of a deficit or a refusal to raise taxes. higher incomes.

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