Poverty Up in Pennsylvania, Down in Philadelphia

First, the kind of bad news: “The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that almost 1.8 million people in Pennsylvania, or 13.9 percent, were living in poverty during 2012. That’s up slightly from 13.8 percent in 2011 and 13.4 percent in 2010. Pennsylvania’s population is almost 12.8 million.” That’s not great, but still below the national poverty level of 15 percent. So there’s that.

Second, the kind of good news: “The survey, whose findings were released Thursday, shows that even with a drop in its poverty rate from 28.4 percent to 26.9 percent, Philadelphia remains the poorest of America’s 10 largest cities, a position it has held for years. ”  So that’s better, but still really awful.

What does the overall news mean? We’re all screwed, somehow.