2021’s poverty data prove that we can tackle big problems together, protecting people and building stronger, healthier communities across Maine and the nation.

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This week, the Census Bureau released an important set of data on changes in U.S. income, poverty, and health insurance levels for 2021. We pay close attention to these data because it’s the best way to see how poverty was affected when policies changed. In 2021, our elected officials in Washington were aiming to protect millions of Americans with low income from hardship due to the pandemic by passing economic security policies like the enhanced child tax credit, the earned income tax credit, enhanced unemployment insurance, stimulus payments, and health care subsidies. 

The data show that these economic security policies have made a big difference in our lives. Here’s some of the evidence that these programs are working:

• In 2021, poverty in the U.S. reached a record low of 7.8% (according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which provides a more accurate picture of poverty). 
• The expanded Child Tax Credit cut child poverty nearly in half in 2021, with the child poverty rate reaching a record low of 5.2%. 
• The healthcare uninsurance rate dropped as well, falling to 8.3% (down from 8.6% in 2020 and 8.5% in 2018, prior to the pandemic). 
• 45.4 million people were protected from poverty last year--households who otherwise would have faced impossible decisions between having enough to eat, being able to put gas in their car, visiting the doctor or filling a prescription, clothing their kids, or making essential car and home repairs. 

Here in Maine, Governor Janet Mills and her administration embraced federal aid to support families and strengthen our economy so that we could weather the pandemic, and it paid off for all of us. 

Anti-poverty policies helped protect our communities from an economic downturn, and ensured more people had enough to eat and cover other household expenses at a time when family budgets were stretched. 

Maine especially made progress on health care. We had one of the largest declines in the uninsured rate last year (2.3 percentage points). In 2021, Maine’s state-based insurance marketplace enrolled more than 60,000 Mainers in individual health plans for 2022, and more than 8 out of 10 received federal subsidies for their care. More than 90,000 Mainers have also been able to access health care through Medicaid expansion, mainly paid for with federal funds, at a time when accessing care throughout the pandemic was critical. 

While there is much to celebrate in this data release, many people are still struggling, and we have a serious income inequality problem in our country and in Maine.

While there was progress and reductions in poverty for almost every racial and ethnic group, large disparities remain among communities of color. For non-Hispanic white people, the 2021 poverty rate is 5.7%, but it’s 11.2% for non-Hispanic Black people, 11.2% for Hispanic people, and 9.5% for Asian people. 

The chart below (from Columbia University) shows the large gaps between the rates of poverty among people of different race/ethnicities. It also shows the impact federal relief measures have and how policies like the child tax credit can reduce poverty, particularly among communities of color who experience higher rates of poverty due to historic inequality. This graph also shows that policies can help change racial income inequality and improve lives. 

In 2021, Jessica from Blue Hill told us about the impact of economic security programs on her family. She said, “These payments have helped put food in my kids’ bellies on a schedule I can actually count on. For many people, the unemployment was the first time in our lives that we could pay all our bills without juggling which ones have to wait till next month. My goal is to reach that level of peace again and this helps us toward that every month.”

We need to continue to support families like Jessica’s! Many of the economic security policies that protected Mainers during the pandemic, like the child tax credit, have expired. Our elected officials in Congress and in Maine should renew and strengthen these proven (and reproven!) programs. Be sure to SIGN UP to stay informed and take action with us.