© Mandel Ngan/AFPPresident Donald Trump
The 2019 poverty rate was 10.5%, the lowest ever recorded since the national poverty rate was first published in 1959. The poverty rate decreased by 1.3% from 2018, marking the fifth straight year of decline, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 2018 and 2019, 4.2 million people were lifted out of poverty.
Median household income increased by 6.8% from 2018 and was up to $68,703 last year, data showed. Black, white, Asian and Hispanic households all saw an increase in median household income.
Poverty levels also declined for all races between 2018 and 2019, with minority groups seeing the largest decreases in poverty. The poverty rate decreased by 2% for black Americans, 2.8% for Asian Americans, 1.8% for Hispanic Americans, and 1% for white Americans.
The report of record economic gains comes after the coronavirus pandemic stifled the economy and increased the unemployment rate to nearly 15%. The president has repeatedly touted the economic gains made under his administration before the pandemic.
The Census Bureau noted that this year, "data collection faced extraordinary circumstances" due to the pandemic. During March and April, data collection took place solely by telephone, and the response rate dropped by about 10%. Additionally, "respondents in 2020 had relatively higher income and were more educated than nonrespondents."
Comment: And so it would have continued except for the Plandemic and its business-killing lockdown.
Trump truly is a rare phenomenon: a US president who lives up to his campaign promises and actively improves the welfare of the population.