Poverty in the United States
The average weekly wage of non-supervisory workers fell by approximately 20% between 1973 and 1990.
The real minimum wage in 1990 was worth 20% less than it was in 1980.
For a full-time year-round worker the minimum wage leaves a family with one child almost US$2000 below the poverty line.
The real value of Aid for Families with Dependent Children has fallen by approximately 40% over 20 years.
In the 1960s, the proportion of US children living in poverty was halved from 27% to 14%. In the 1970s it crept up to 17%. In the 1980s it climbed to 22%.
The Washington-based Children's Defense Fund estimates that less than 1% of the US above the poverty line.
The American Public Welfare Association has found that the number of very poor families on welfare has increased more in the past two years than it did in the previous 16 years.
In 1991 the state of Michigan cut its general assistance program, leaving more than 80,000 adults with no income. Earlier this year, it closed 17 halfway houses for prisoners and put the inmates on electronic tethers.
The average family income of the poorest fifth of the population declined by 6.1% from 1979 to 1987, while the wealthiest portion experienced a family income rise of 11.1%.
Health cuts in New York City have led to an increase in the number of children infected with tuberculosis. In 1990 a study showed that children at 26 public schools had an infection rate five times the national average.
A 10-foot-high wall has been built along the Mexico-US border, from the Pacific Ocean to the Otay Mesa checkpoint. President George Bush has proposed an increase of US$96 million for the Immigration and Naturalisation Service to halt border crossings. The INS's budget this year is US$1.04 billion.