Fewer Living in Poverty, Now $10,609 : 1st Big Decline Since 1976; Still Above Pre-Reagan Figures

The number of people living in poverty declined in 1984, the first significant improvement since 1976, but the total is still much worse than when the Reagan Administration took office, the Census Bureau said today.

The government’s annual report on poverty showed 14.4% of the American population--33.7 million --below the official poverty line in 1984, a major reduction of 1.8 million people from the 15.3% proportion in 1983.

The reason for the improvement was the low inflation rate, which has allowed poor people to catch up somewhat with the rest of the country as it enjoyed a 3.3% increase in family income during the year, bureau officials said.

Director of White House communications Pat Buchanan hailed the figures as “clearly unambiguous good news, for the country, for everybody.”

‘A Triumph for Reagan’

The improvement in the poverty rate is “a triumph for Reagan policies, a triumph for Reagan philosophy,” Buchanan told reporters in a rare news conference.

But at 14.4%, the proportion of people living in poverty was still well above the 13% in 1980.

The poverty line for 1984 was an income of $10,609 for a family of four with all those below that income regarded as living in poverty.

The report illustrated how far the dramatic shifts in American society of the past few years have gone, with the poverty rate for children much higher than that for the elderly. The report showed that the rate for children under 18 declined from 22.2% in 1983 to 21.3% in 1984, while the rate for people 65 and over was 12.4% last year, reflecting a 1.8% improvement. The trend reverses the pattern that prevailed until the early 1970s, when the poverty rate among the elderly was much greater.

All Groups Benefited

“It is fair to say practically all groups benefited from the recent economic recovery,” Census Bureau spokesman Gordon Green told reporters at a news conference.

With the low inflation rate of 4% in 1984, “people find it easier to keep up with the income gains of the rest of the population,” Green said.

The number in poverty declined for blacks, from 35.7% to 33.8%, and for whites, from 12.2% of the population to 11.5%. The rate for Hispanics was virtually unchanged, at 28.4% compared to 28.1% in 1983.