Vote with the Facts!

Voter Guide

We feel that there is no more urgent matter than to share these researched facts nationwide in order

to counter "the spin," register voters, and support them all the way to the polls.

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© 2004, Vote with the Facts & US Face to Face

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Poverty

1)  What is the increase in the bankruptcy rate since 2000?

32%.  From 2000-2003 the US had the highest rate of bankruptcies in its history.

Source: Administrative Office of the US Courts, "Judicial Business of the United States Courts: Annual Report of the Director, 2002," http://www.uscourts.gov/judbus2002/contents.html, 2003: http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/fy03bk.pdf

[use "Judicial Business" link to download PDF file]

2)  In 2003 how many people in the US were living below the official poverty line (defined as $18,244 for a family of 4 with 2 children)? 

36 million.  This is an increase for three consecutive years of 4.6 million from the year 2000 number of people in poverty of 31.1 million ( which was 11.3% of the population). The year 2001 saw the first increase in the poverty rate since 1993.

Sources for questions 5-10: 2003: http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty03/pov03hi.html, http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty02/pov02hi.html, http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00hi.html http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/income00/prs01asc.html, http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p60-214.pdf [see page 8]

3) What was the total number of children in the US living in poverty in 2003?

12.9 million children  (17.6%) (about 1 in 5.68 children), up from 11.6 million (16.1%) in 2000 — an increase of a 1.3 million children added to poverty since Bush took office.

4)  What was the average rate of increase in requests for emergency shelter in 2003 and 2003?

Requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 17% over the past year, and requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by an average of 13% in the 25 cities surveyed. In 2002, the increase was 19%, which is the largest annual increase since 1990.

Source: US Conference of Mayors, "Hunger, Homelessness On the Rise in Major U.S. Cities," Dec. 18, 2002, http://usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/hunger_121802.asp, http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/hunger_121803.asp

5)  From 1947-2001 which party holding the White House has produced the highest unemployment rate?

The Republicans.  5 GOP presidents produced an average unemployment rate of 6.3% whereas 5 Democratic presidents produced an average unemployment rate of 4.8%. Unemployment under Bush now averages 6.1% (an increase of 1.4% since 2001), approaching the average unemployment rate of Republican presidents.

Source: "GOP Always Falls Down on the Jobs," Larry M. Bartels, Director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics at Princeton University, Los Angeles Times commentary, Sept. 26, 2003, www.latimes.com [type "Bartels" in Archive search]

 6)  What must a worker now earn to afford the average rent and utilities for a 2-bedroom apartment?

$15.21 an hour. The federal minimum wage now stands at $5.15 an hour.

Source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, http://www.nlihc.org/oor2003/introduction.htm

7)  How many families were living in poverty in 2002?

7.2 million families (9.6%), up from 6.2 million families (8.6%) in 2000 — an increase of one million families.

8)  How many married couple families were living in poverty in 2002?

3.1 million families (5.3%), up from 2.6 million (4.7%) in 2000 — an increase of half a million families.

9)  How many single parent households headed by a woman were living in poverty in 2002?

3.6 million households (26.5%), up from 3.1 million (24.7%) in 2000 — an increase of half a million households.

10)  How many people from the suburbs were living in poverty in 2002?

13.3 million people (8.9%), up from 12.1 million (7.8%) in 2000 — an increase of nearly a million and a quarter people.

Please share this information face to face with as many others as possible based on as much commitment you can muster in yourself for your country, your fellow Americans and for the world.   For more referenced questions and answers please visit our website at:   www.votewiththefacts.org