The Bush Legacy: Poverty

The first line this AP article should be at the top of any discussion of the Bush legacy.

The nation's poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent of the population last year, the fourth consecutive annual increase, the Census Bureau said Tuesday.

Add poverty, household income and healthcare to the long list of national issues President Bush fail to address or made worst with this corporate friendly agenda.

The number of people without health insurance grew from 45 million to 45.8 million. At the same time, the number of people with health insurance coverage grew by 2 million last year.

The median household income, meanwhile, stood at $44,389, unchanged from 2003. Among racial and ethnic groups blacks had the lowest median income and Asians the highest. Median income refers to the point at which half of households earn more and half earn less.

Regionally, income declined only in the Midwest, down 2.8 percent to $44,657. The South was the poorest region and the Northeast and the West had the highest median incomes.

The South which has given President Bush his most loyal support continues to be the poorest region of the Nation, is it time for Democratic party to embrace economic populism?

The Bush legacy is a legacy of complete failure.