In advance of President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, William Rivers Pitt looks at widespread poverty and the ruins of New Orleans to state, "the state of this union is not good."
"Since 2000, the number of Americans living in poverty has risen to nearly 37 million. More than 13 million of these are children. More than one in four American families with children make less than $30,000 a year. Look within that number and you will find 46% of African American families with children and 44% of Hispanic families with children fall below this mark. Average annual income for Americans fell once again in 2005. 46 million Americans live without health insurance."
"Hundreds of thousands of Americans remain displaced [after Hurricane Katrina], many holding on by the skin of their teeth in cramped trailers. Thirty million cubic yards of debris remain uncollected...There is not even a plan in place to begin to attack the problem. The Bush administration has left New Orleans to rot...The situation in New Orleans is a problem that will not go away."
"The budget is destroyed, spent on tax cuts and the Iraq occupation, while millions of Americans suffer the loss of necessary services."
Read the full story: The State of the Union
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
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