Answer:
Poverty is something that has been around since early civilization. As more inventions were invented and more factories and other devices were produced, the poverty rate increased. In 2020 the amount was almost 13.5 million people. The reason was probably the pandemic that affected jobs and inflated prices, which only increased the amount who were poor. So, poverty has been around for centuries and the more we advance, the more it increases, as well.
Citations and credits:
The internet: Census Government