More than half of American adults said they fear becoming poor at some time in their life, a 5 percent increase over last year’s results in a survey conducted by the nation’s Catholic bishops.
The “Poverty Pulse” survey is sponsored annually by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development as part of Poverty in America Awareness Month. The 2003 public opinion poll surveyed 1,008 adults on attitudes toward poverty in the United States.
The 2003 survey showed that 96 percent of Americans think it is important to address the problem of poverty, and more people than last year reported involvement with community programs that aid the poor.
More than 80 percent of those surveyed said they have taken some action to end poverty in the past year, many-34 percent-through monetary donations. U.S. census figures show 34.6 million Americans now live below the federal poverty line, about 12 percent of the total population, and 1.7 million more than last year.
(RNS)
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