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4 out of 5 US adults face poverty, joblessness: Study

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ANI Washington

A recent survey has revealed that four out of five adults in the United States are either struggling with joblessness or reaching poverty or rely on welfare for parts of their lives, which points finger towards the deteriorating economic security in the country.

According to the CBS News, the identified reasons for this increasing trend are increasingly globalized U.S. economy, widening gap between rich and poor, and loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs.

As nonwhites have approached a numerical majority in the U.S., eliminating the racial barriers have been the focus for the government to imply economic equality, regardless of race.

Economic insecurity among whites engulfs more than 76 percent of white adults by the time they turn 60, the report added.

 

The survey defines economic insecurity as a year or more of periodic joblessness, reliance on government aid such as food stamps or income below 150 percent of the poverty line.

According to the report, 63 percent of whites believe that the economy is poor and the risk of economic insecurity has risen to 79 percent.

the count of America's poor remains stuck at a record number 46.2 million, or 15 percent of the population, due in part to lingering high unemployment following the recession.

More than 19 million whites (41 percent) fall below the poverty line of 23,021 dollars for a family of four, nearly double the number of poor blacks.

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First Published: Jul 29 2013 | 11:30 AM IST

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