Homelessness, poverty shoot up

Capitalist statisticians are beginning to lift the lid on some of the devastation caused by the economic crisis.

According to the latest government reports, the poverty level in the U.S. rose in 2009 from 13.2 percent to 15 percent — the largest jump since 1959, the first year such records were kept. This means that one in every seven people in the U.S. lives in poverty.

The official poverty level is artificially low and does not calculate the cost of medical care, transportation and child care, among other things. All these costs have been rising. These rising costs will be included beginning next year, meaning that the official poverty rate will shoot up again.

Additionally, the number of families living in homeless shelters has soared from 131,000 to 170,000 from 2007 through 2009, reflecting foreclosures, evictions and layoffs. This does not count people living in tent cities all over the country.