By Bob Plain in Rhode Island’s Future- See more at:
http://www.rifuture.org/ri-has-not-moved-needle-on-poverty-uninsured.html#sthash.opEQYDhE.dpuf
Rhode Island hasn’t
moved the needle for people living in poverty, according to an analysis of new
Census data by the Economic Progress Institute.
The Ocean State still
has the second highest poverty rate in New England, behind only Maine, with
13.7 percent of residents living below the poverty standard. There are nearly
140,000 Rhode Islanders who earn less than $19,090 in 2012 and more than 62,000
Rhode Islanders earned less than $10,000.
Neighbors Connecticut
and Massachusetts boast considerably lower poverty rates at 10.7 and 11.9
percents respectively.
One third of Rhode
Island Latinos were living in poverty in 2012 as were more than one-fourth of
African Americans. Less than 10 percent of White Rhode Islanders were
impoverished.
Rhode Island should
make educating its current and future workforce the cornerstone of its economic
development strategy,” Brewster said.
Affordable housing,
childcare assistance, support for the food bank and payday loan reform are also
needed to reverse this trend, Brewster said.
Similarly, the number
of uninsured Rhode Islanders remained stagnant with some 125,000 residents
without health coverage in 2012. The Ocean State has the highest rate of
uninsured residents in New England. Massachusetts has the lowest rate of
uninsured residents in the nation at 4.3 percent and Connecticut has the fourth
lowest at 9.4 percent.
Bob Plain is the
editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a
reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and
across the country.