'Dismal' prospects: 1 in 2 Americans are now poor or low income

Let's redistribute the wealth so we can all be poor.

WASHINGTON - Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1in 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.

Well, for at least the last 3+ years.