PRESS
RELEASE
August 29, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Sharon Kayne, Communications Director, New Mexico Voices for
Children
505-244-9505 ext. 30 (p), 505-401-8709 (c), skayne@nmvoices.org
OR
Gerry Bradley, Research Director, New Mexico Voices for Children
505-244-9505 ext. 23 (p), 505-264-0074 (c), gbradley@nmvoices.org
Census Data
Doesn't Show Improvement in NM Poverty ... Or Does It?
ALBUQUERQUE-It's a case of good
news/bad news. First the good news: New Mexico has dropped from
ranking 3rd in the nation for poverty (in 2004) to ranking 4th
(2005). Now the bad news: That doesn't mean New Mexico is winning
the war on poverty.
While the poverty rate in New
Mexico has decreased slightly, what the ranking change reflects
instead is that poverty is on the rise in the District of Columbia,
which now ranks 3rd. They just make us look better by comparison.
The rankings, released today
by the U.S. Census Bureau, are from the American Community Survey
(ACS). The Bureau's Current Population Survey (CPS), also released
today, shows no statistically significant change in poverty
rates for New Mexico or the nation. In New Mexico, 17.2% of
residents live in poverty. The national average is 12.7%.
"I'm a little surprised
New Mexico's poverty rate didn't improve more this year,"
said Gerry Bradley, research director for NM Voices for Children.
The state has seen strong job growth since 2004, but that hasn't
translated into higher median income - at least not yet. "Next
year, our poverty rate should be considerably better,"
said Bradley, as the 2006 data will reflect continued job growth.
As with any data, numbers don't
always tell the whole story. For example, according to the 2000
Census, New Mexico's homeownership rate is higher than the national
average. Meanwhile, the Center for Enterprise Development ranks
New Mexico 50th in household net worth. Why don't high homeownership
rates translate into high household net worth? What the numbers
don't show is that while lots of New Mexicans own their homes,
lots of those are mobile homes - which decrease in value rather
than increase.
While the rise in job quantity
and quality indicates that New Mexico is going in the right
direction, the country as a whole should be faring better as
it moves into the fifth year of an economic recovery. Along
with stagnating poverty rates, real wages have not kept up with
increasing productivity or inflation, and the income inequality
gap continues to widen.
The census report is available
at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf
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New Mexico Voices for Children is a nonprofit organization advocating
for policies to improve the health and well-being of New Mexico's
children, families and communities.
2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120, Albuquerque, NM 87106; 505-244-9505;
www.nmvoices.org
