Could the 2016 election impact poverty in America?

While correlation isn’t causation, it’s interesting to note the changes in poverty over the last 60 or so years. Child poverty remains a definite concern — in major part since children represent a greater portion of the poor. But the overall rate of poverty in the U.S. has generally been in decline. This is good news, but it means we still have work to do when it comes to helping kids. Take a look!

Whether you support Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Jill Stein or Gary Johnson, we have no intention of urging you one way or another. CI isn’t Libertarian or Democrat or Republican. Our vote is for helping children out of poverty. Some states have done better than others, and some presidential administrations have seen poverty fall, rise and decline again. Overall, though, poverty in America has generally trended downward. U.S. poverty rates over the past 60 years: 1953-26.2%; 1963-19.5%; 1973-11.1%; 1983-15.2%; 1993-15.1%; 2003-12.5%; 2013-14.5%.

Between 2014 and 2015, the percentage of U.S. households living in poverty dropped from 14.8 to 13.5, and median household income rose by 5.2 percent. The seven poorest states, based on median income, are Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. Mississippi, New Mexico and Arkansas are the top three states with the highest rates of child poverty. Statewide, 61 percent of students enrolled in Arkansas public schools are low-income. 75 percent of students enrolled in Little Rock public schools are low-income, compared to 51 percent of students in the U.S. overall. CI sponsors more than 2,700 kids in Little Rock, Arkansas.