Image via Wikipediaby Mark MillerThe numbers are dismal: the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the poverty rate rose sharply last year to 14.3 percent, the highest since 1994. Forty-four million Americans were below the official poverty line, and one out of every five children were considered poor.
If there’s a silver lining in the annual poverty report, it seems to be this: Seniors were relatively unscathed by the harsh recession that started in the fall of 2008. The poverty rate for Americans over 65 fell from 9.7 percent to 8.9 percent. And, while income was flat or down for every other age group, seniors’ income rose a whopping 5.8 percent.
At first glance, the numbers seem to point to a generational divide, with older Americans in an economic lifeboat at a time when the ship is going down.
Unfortunately, the lifeboat is leaky, too. Social Security has played a critical role lifting millions of seniors out of poverty, but the big gains last year are due to a series of one-time events that won’t be repeated. In fact, the long-term economic prospects for older Americans are no better than those facing younger age groups.
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