Nearly 50% of Americans in Poverty or are low income

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.
The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.
"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too 'rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty.
"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years." end quote.

I think Obama was right when he said that this election is about whether we have a middle class or not or whether we become a "Banana Republic" with the way things are presently going.

Though there was a similar time to this at the end of the Viet Nam War that stretched into the late 70s and 80s, by the 1990s the U.S. had recovered. However, this time the rest of the world seems to be in as bad or worse shape than the U.S. so there doesn't appear to be anyone left who can help the U.S. or Europe who is actually willing to do it this time.