This year's Census Bureau report on nation-wide levels of poverty, income, and health insurance made clear that, although the U.S. economy expanded in 2004, the expansion did not extend to all Americans, in particular missing households most in need of a boost. The real income of a typical household has fallen for the past five years, despite steady economic expansion over the last three years. At the same time, the number of Americans living in poverty and lacking health insurance has increased steadily. The number of Americans living in poverty rose to 37 million in 2004, up 1.1 million from 2003, according to the report. The income of the median household, adjusted for inflation, remained 3.8 percent - or a whopping $1,700 - below its most recent peak in 1999. This ongoing decline in income is in part due to the faltering level of real annual earnings, which fell 2.3 percent for men and 1.0 percent for women. Health care coverage for Americans grew spottier as well, with one million more Americans going without health insurance in 2004. In 2003, 45 million Americans lacked health insurance; that number has since grown to 45.8 million. Besides revealing growth in the ranks of America's poor and uninsured, the latest Census release highlights the unbalanced nature of the economic recovery from 2002-2004. From the Census numbers, the Economic Policy Institute noted that "while the share of total national income flowing to the bottom 60% of households was essentially unchanged, the share going to the top 5 percent was up 0.4 percentage points." Source: Economic Policy Institute: Income Picture: August 31, 2005 While the economic recovery is not benefiting Americans equally, our economic outlook will likely worsen with the anticipated fallout from Hurricane Katrina, leading to a jump in unemployment and lower economic growth across the board. Payrolls may very well shrink and the unemployment rate could rise significantly in the months ahead. Many economists believe the hurricane's fallout will slow overall economic growth, as higher energy prices provide a disincentive for consumers and businesses to spend. The Washington Post reports, some predict the aftershocks of the hurricane could drag down economic growth across the country, with the final quarter of this year slowing to an anemic 2 percent. The latest Census report underscores the failure of current economic policies to improve conditions for most Americans. There has been some economic growth and expansion over the last few years, but the benefits have flowed primarily to corporations and those individuals who already have achieved economic stability, leaving the rest of the country to continue to struggle. As the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found, at no other time in the past 45 years has U.S. poverty increase between the second and third years of an economic recovery. The impact of stagnating incomes, increasing poverty, and the growing roster of uninsured Americans is felt most acutely by the most vulnerable. Almost one in five American children lives in poverty according to the new data, yet Congress is planning to make deep cuts to Medicaid and the federal food stamp program as part of the budget reconciliation process this month. Such cuts will only worsen the situation for poor families, who are already struggling to provide for their children’s most basic needs. Given the rise in poverty, slashing the safety net will only add to the pain of millions of Americans. CBPP Executive Director Robert Greenstein, encapsulating progressive arguments against such cuts, maintains that "Congress should not be pursuing policies that take these adverse trends in poverty income, and health insurance and make them worse." Our elected officials would better serve the American people by focusing on policies that realistically address the growing problems of poverty and inequity in our nation and that satisfy the need for long-term investment in our country, rather than by cutting our budget at the expense of those in need, to finance tax cuts for the wealthy.