ECONOMY --

RECORD NUMBER OF AMERICANS LIVING IN SEVERE POVERTY: America's poor have yet to reap the benefits of the recent economic expansion as the gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" "continues to wide." In an analysis of 2005 census figures, McClatchy newspapers found that "nearly 16 million Americans are living near deep or severe poverty," a 32-year high. The analysis revealed that from 2000 to 2005, the number of severely poor swelled by 26 percent -- the highest growth rate for any other segment of the population. Steven Woolf, co-author of the study, said the results were the opposite of what his team expected. "We're not seeing as much moderate poverty as a proportion of the population," he explained. "What we're seeing is a dramatic growth of severe poverty." The results show a stark rise in income inequality in the United States, as "the share of national income going to corporate profits has has dwarfed the amount going to wages and salaries." Washington, D.C. has the highest rate of people living in extreme poverty -- 10.8 percent. The long-term effects of more children growing up in this poverty will be widespread, explains the Center for American Progress, including increased crime rates and health care costs. With such high levels of poverty, the need to invest in resources to reduce poverty such as early childhood education, urban revitalization, and raising the minimum wage, is more crucial than ever.