Non User
Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z	Business Non User Industries Finance Tax

Home > Poverty line in the United States

1 History

The first official poverty line for the United States was developed by Mollie Orshansky for the Social Security Administration in 1964. It was amended, then later adopted for the Lyndon Johnson administration's War on Poverty as a general statistic on poverty. Orshansky's definition calculated the minimum amount of income a family unit would need to purchase food for all family members to eat the cheapest nutritionally acceptable diet described by the United States Department of Agriculture. She then multiplied that number by three, the average percentage that U.S. families spent on food. Orshansky did not intend this figure to measure the minimum income necessary for survival. Rather, she meant this as a statistical tool in order to facilitate the studying of issues of poverty. (From Fisher, 1992)

The U.S. Census Bureau now reports:

If a family's total income is less than that family's threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and does not include capital gains and noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps).

Official figures report that the cash income level of about ten percent of Americans places them below the poverty line. However, these figures cannot be directly compared with official figures in other countries, as each country uses different measurements.

2 Controversy

The US poverty line is controversial, with some advocates claiming it understates poverty in the US and other advocates claiming it overstates poverty.

For instance, it has been pointed out that many of the lowest ten percent of U.S. households, all officially denominated as poor, have possessions which were considered luxuries, or in some cases nonexistent, fifty years ago. [1]

• color televisions, 91%
• microwave ovens, 74%;
• VCR's, 55%;
• clothes dryers, 47%;
• stereos, 42%;
• dishwashers, 23%;
• computers, 21%;
• garbage disposers, 19%

Certain commentators have questioned the placement of the poverty line, asking whether people with access to such resources should be denominated as poor.

Critics point out that while some of these items are not necessities they are much easier to produce today than fifty years ago, making them inexpensive. In the 1950’s, a microwave cost more than two years of low-income rent; today one can be had for a fraction of one month’s rent. Furthermore, present conditions are compared to an arbitrary time period. If one chooses an earlier period, many more items would become luxuries or nonexistent (i.e. refrigerators, electric lights, gas ranges, etc.).

2.1 2003

On August 26August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). There are 127 days remaining. Events Monday, August 26, 55 BC Julius Caesar invades Britain Saturday, August 26, 1071 Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co the U.S. Census Bureau reported its povertyreport over 2003. The official poverty rate was up to 12.5% from 12.1% in 20022002 is a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). 2002 was the first palindromic year since 1991 and the last until 2112. 2002 was also designated: International Year of Ecotourism and Mountains National Science Year in the United Kingdom. The total number of people below the poverty line rose by 1.3 million to 35.9 million.

Since 2000 the total number of people below the poverty line has increased with about 5 million.

Politics	Business	Finance

Topics: Poverty Line In The United States Official Income U.s People...

---

Poverty in the United StatesThere is significant disagreement on how much poverty there is in the United States, clashing particularly over how " poverty" ought to be defined. Using radically different definitions, two major groups of advocates have claimed variously (a) that the Un Poverty line in the United StatesIn the United States, official statistics on poverty and the official poverty line are kept by the US Census Bureau. Other federal and state agencies, however, use other definitions of poverty, for example, to do means testing for welfare programs. Histor PovertyPoverty describes a wide range of circumstances associated with need, hardship and lack of resources, as well as the decision by some—e. ascetics, monks, and nuns—to live simply. For some, poverty is a subjective and comparative term; for others, it is mo Poverty lineThe poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. People who have an income below the poverty line have no discretionary disposable income, by definition. The actual monetary value of Poverty pimpPoverty pimp is a derogatory label used to convey the accusation that an individual or group is benefiting unduly by acting as an intermediary on behalf of the poor. Those who use this appellation suggest that "poverty pimps" profit from the misfortune of Poverty PointPoverty Point is an archaeological site in northwestern Louisiana (near the town of Epps, Louisiana), overlooking the Mississippi River flood plain. It was constructed c. 1500 BCE by American Indians of the archaic Poverty Point Culture that inhabited the Poverty Bay