Aug. 22, 2007U-M experts available to discuss poverty, income data in U.S. Census Bureau reportWatch a video report (4:20)ANN ARBOR, Mich.—University of Michigan experts are available to discuss the new poverty and income data to be released Aug. 28 by the U.S. Census Bureau.Three experts—all affiliated with the U-M National Poverty Center, a research center in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy—can talk about various aspects of poverty. More than 37 million people lived in poverty in 2005, or 12.6 percent of the United States population.• Robert Schoeni, professor of public policy and economics, says the poverty rate for families with children has not declined substantially in the last several decades, “despite the fact that the average family—and particularly the more affluent families—has seen remarkable gains.” Schoeni teaches and conducts research on program evaluation, welfare policy, economics and demographics of aging, labor economics, and immigration. Schoeni can be reached at (734) 763-5131 or [email protected]. • Sheldon Danziger, the Henry J. Meyer Distinguished University Professor of Public Policy and National Poverty Center co-director, says workers with less education have earned wages that do not keep pace with inflation. For example, it took nearly 10 years before the federal minimum wage increased to $5.85 an hour from $5.15 an hour. Reducing poverty hasn’t been a priority in the United States, but several 2008 presidential candidates have made it a campaign issue.”Obviously, what will matter is whether it will be a high priority for the person who is elected president,” said Danziger, a scholar on poverty, income inequality, social welfare programs and policy. Danziger can be reached at (734) 615-8321 or [email protected]. • Rebecca Blank, the Henry Carter Adams Professor of Public Policy, says one of the poorest groups in America has been single mothers. “Extreme poverty—those whose income is below 50 percent of the poverty line—has also been increasing among this group. This is particularly worrisome since so many children live in these families,” said Blank, a NPC co-director who is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute. Blank is available at (202) 797-6299 or [email protected].

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