The following is a statement by Trooper Sanders, CEO of Benefits Data Trust, in response to the 2022 supplemental poverty statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau today in three separate reports.
“Rising levels of American poverty should concern every single one of us. Today’s reports show the largest one-year increase on record, and that the number of children in poverty doubled in 2022 from the previous year. What is most alarming is that the numbers released today are only part of the picture. The landscape is changing as pandemic-related safety net programs continue to end this year. That means the numbers for 2022 don't reveal the full extent of the financial problems faced by families nationwide. The situation is more dire than the numbers suggest.”