Poverty Levels Spike As Funding for Programs Aimed at Helping the Poor Drop

“It’s very, very disheartening. We take a couple of steps forward and then fall back at least one. The private sector isn’t going to fix these neighborhoods. I view these things as investments, not expenditures. These things are an investment in the future that bring returns many times over,” he said.

While the U.S. economy is slowly recovering, improvements for those deep in poverty do not keep pace with the cuts now in place. The spending reductions going into effect will hit hardest at Americans whose prospects are not directly tied to the economy — people like Antonio Hammond and children in the Head Start pre-school programs.

According to the AP, U.S. poverty levels are spiking during a time when the government is cutting funding (due to the sequester) for programs aimed to help the poor, like Head Start, which “provides educational services for low-income pre-school children and frees single mothers to find work without the huge expense of childcare.” Austerity measures are tough on everyone, but there’s no doubt that they’re toughest on those living in poverty.

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