Decline in U.S. Income Raises Stakes in 2012 Presidential Race

U.S. household income fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in 2010 and poverty rose to a 17-year high, setting the stage for the debate over jobs and the economy that will dominate the 2012 presidential race.

Median household income declined 2.3 percent, and the proportion of people living in poverty last year climbed to 15.1 percent, or almost one in six Americans, from 14.3 percent in 2009, a U.S. Census Bureau report yesterday showed.