Talking Poverty on Twitter
On September 11th 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau
announced that the poverty rate for 2008 was 13.2%. This means the number of people in poverty has increased by about 2.5 million, to 39.8 million. To give you some perspective, 2.5 million is more than the number of people who live in Detroit and San Francisco combined.
To draw attention to this data, Spotlight on Poverty organized
Poverty Data Day on
Twitter.
On September 29th 2009, the Census Bureau
released additional data, including the
American Community Survey poverty data. We encourage you to tweet about the data, using the #poverty hashtag. Additionally, please consider using the #poverty hashtag in the future whenever you tweet about poverty.
Want to help us spread the word on Twitter about the release of the poverty data?
Send a tweet that includes the #poverty hashtag – it’s that easy! Make sure you include the #poverty hashtag so your tweet will be displayed in
the TweetGrid below. If it is one of our favorites, we’ll add it to this page permanently. Can’t think of something to tweet? Copy and paste any of the sample tweets below:
- Join the Twitter campaign to raise awareness of #poverty in the United States. Learn more at http://su.pr/2je5FS
- US Income Gap Widens as Poor Take Hit in Recession: (learn more: ) pls RT
- The number of Americans in #poverty has jumped 2.5 million to 39.8 million. Learn more and spread the word: http://su.pr/2je5FS
- Census: Income falls for all groups, but those at bottom feel worst effect --
#poverty Tweet Grid
Additional Resources
- Poverty Day Resource Guide - In collaboration with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Spotlight has gathered the following resources to help journalists, policymakers and advocates locate timely analysis, statements and events examining the new figures.
- Pam Fessler NPR Piece on the Poverty Measure - New census figures Thursday are expected to show that the poverty rate rose in 2008. But the government still measures poverty the same way it did more than 40 years ago, and many experts think that gives an inaccurate measure of what's going on.
- PovertyMeasure.org - This site offers background on the federal poverty measure, commentary, data and analysis on the issue, an overview of proposed Congressional legislation and a look at local efforts to modernize the poverty measure.
- Updating Poverty - A special report from The American Prospect.
- Chairmen Rangel and McDermott Highlight Recovery Act’s Impact on Reducing Poverty
- A new Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) analysis released today found that provisions in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, have
prevented six million Americans from falling below the poverty line, in
addition to reducing the severity of poverty for 33 million Americans.
- 2009 Kids Count Data Book Widget - The widget provides state rankings for overall child-well being and state data on the status of children for 10 key indicators included in the 2009 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
Participating Organizations on Twitter
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law,
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,
Children's Defense Fund,
Annie E. Casey Foundation,
Sojourners,
Health Care For America Now,
Habitat For Humanity,
Policy For Results,
Policy Link,
Millenium Promise,
Washington Area Women's Foundation,
Nourism America,
Convoy of Hope,
Families Forward,
Association of Arizona Food Banks,
NYC Food Bank,
Poverty Reduction Initiative,
Fresh Ministries,
New Jersey Food Bank,
Ozark Food Harvest,
Northeast Kingdom Community Action,
New York State Community Action Association,
Mid Ohio Food Bank,
Matrix Human Services,
Here's Life Inner City,
World Hunger Year,
Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire,
Bread For The City,
Change.org
Embed the 2009 Kids Count Data Book Widget on Your Website