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MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee is in the national spotlight again because of its poverty rate. The numbers are bleak. A new estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau found almost one in four people in Milwaukee were living below the poverty line in 2007. “It's hard, it’s hard,” Tamothy Tigue said. Tigue is one those Milwaukeeans barley getting by. She supports two children on less than $13,000 a year. She feels like she's living on the edge. “I feel like I am on a wagon and I have no wheels and I hope that it don't turn over and it don't blow up,” Tigue said. Tigue is not alone. The Census Bureau found there were 138,000 people living below the poverty line in the city in 2007. In 2006, the Census Bureau said 143,000 people in Milwaukee lived in poverty. But anti-poverty experts say with the downturn in the economy, things could get worse. “Those numbers are frightening. It's a terrible number,” David Reimer said. Reimer works at Community Advocates, a non-profit group that helps the poor. “The fundamental cause of poverty is people are not working because there are not enough jobs, and that people are not earning enough,” Reimer said. He believes poverty is so bad because the programs out there only treat the symptoms. “But to only deal with the symptoms and to not deal with the underlying cause is going to leave us stuck with thousands of poor people year after year after year,” Reimer said. Tigue admits she has been stuck. Now, she is looking for a way out of poverty. Reimer says even if you are not poor, poverty is a problem that affects all of us. “Poor people in large numbers are poor because they are unemployed and don't make enough year after year. They are going to commit more crimes, they are going to turn to drugs, and it's going to hurt you and me,” Reimer said. Reimer said he's working with other agencies to discuss ways to pool their resources so they can address the problem more effectively. For a family of four, the poverty level last year was $21,027.