Facts and figures on poverty in the United States

[Clara T]

Facts and figures on poverty in the United States

$35,000 -- basic-needs budget for a U.S. family of four (two adults, two children), as calculated in An Atlas of Poverty in America

$19,157 -- poverty line for a family of four (two adults, two children) in the U.S. in 2004, as established by the U.S. Census Bureau

$19,000 -- amount spent by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's wife Columba during a five-day shopping spree in Paris in 1999

12.7 -- percentage of U.S. citizens living below the poverty line in 2004 (37 million people)

8.6 -- percentage of non-Hispanic Caucasians living below the poverty level in 2004

9.8 -- percentage of Asians living below the poverty level in 2004

21.9 -- percentage of Hispanics living below the poverty level in 2004

24.3 -- percentage of Native Americans living below the poverty level in 2004 4

24.7 -- percentage of African Americans living below the poverty level in 2004 4

$84,044 -- average per capita personal income in New York County, N.Y., the most affluent county in the nation, in 2003

$10,805 -- average per capita personal income in Starr County, Texas, the least affluent county in the nation, in 2003 6
http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2006/02/13/poverty/

[sasha031]

1. I wonder what it's going to take for the other 1/2 to wake up

will 70% of americans have to end up below the poverty line for the freeps to realize it's not the libruls and gay marriage who have ruined the country.

I wish I had the confidence that it was going to get better, but I don't. The US is under siege by a select groups of maniacs.
but there are always the 2006 elections, as long as the votes are counted...

[raccoon]

2. I agree, the "official" poverty measure is ridiculous

"$19,157 -- poverty line for a family of four (two adults, two children) in the U.S. in 2004, as established by the U.S. Census Bureau "


"$19,000 -- amount spent by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's wife Columba during a five-day shopping spree in Paris in 1999 "

That's obscene.

Also, those percentages you quoted, probably could be multiplied by 2 to get a more realistic picture of how many Americans live in poverty.

[Clara T]

3. 24% of workforce in low-wage jobs

$11,354 -- average cost per year of tuition, fees, room, and board at a four-year public college in 2004-05

16 -- percentage by which real wages have increased in the last 30 years for workers with some college education

19 -- percentage by which real wages have declined in the last 30 years for workers with less than a high-school education

$51,138 -- median annual income of a white man with a bachelor's degree in 2003

$41,916 -- median annual income of a black man with a bachelor's degree in 2003

$33,142 -- median annual income of a black woman with a bachelor's degree in 2003

$30,082 -- median annual income of a white woman with a bachelor's degree in 2003

24 -- percentage of the workforce in low-wage jobs (under $9 per hour)

http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2006/02/13/poverty/

[Yupster]

13. African-American woman with BA

makes 10 % more than white woman with BA.

Surprising?

[EFerrari]

4. When our 2 adult family income was at this level, we were

functionally homeless. Hubby was too ill to work, I worked part time and took care of him part time. I don't know how either of us would have survived without the help of our family. And the toll is cumulative. In the fifth year, you're much more tired, frazzled and less healthy than you are in the first year.

Let's rate this thread up, folks. Most of us are a check or two away.

:kick:

[Nikia]

12. I believe that poverty level is based on the cost of food

I am not positive about that though. I think the cost of other necessities have gone up faster than the price of food, which explain why it is so low.

[redqueen]

5. K&R

Whomever gets into the house and senate this fall... we need to hammer on them about these issues. They're not going away and they're certainly not getting any better.

[raccoon]

6. Recommended. nt

[Wilms]

7. K&R n/t

[Celeborn Skywalker]

8. This is so wrong.

We need the Democrats out there pushing for substantial increases in minimum wage along with the implementation of a universal health care plan. This kind of poverty in the richest country in the world should not be allowed to continue.

Recommended.

[Clara T]

9. 31.2% of children in Arkansas live in poverty

46.8 -- percentage of Americans aged 65 or older who would have had incomes below the poverty line without Social Security benefits, from 2000 to 2002

8.7 -- percentage of Americans aged 65 or older who did have incomes below the poverty line, even with Social Security benefits, from 2000 to 2002

8.6 -- percentage of children living in poverty in 2003 in New Hampshire, the state with the fewest impoverished children in the U.S.

31.2 -- percentage of children living in poverty in 2003 in Arkansas, the state with the most impoverished children in the nation

169,000 -- minimum number of housing units in Appalachia that had no plumbing in 2000, the latest year for which statistics are available

http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2006/02/13/poverty/

[Gormy Cuss]

10. Understanding the Census Bureau's poverty threshold

I added bold emphasis for a few key points.

Following the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty. If a family’s total income is less than the family’s threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition uses money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps).


Income used to compute poverty status:

* Money income

o Includes earnings, unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, public assistance, veterans’ payments, survivor benefits, pension or retirement income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, income from estates, trusts, educational assistance, alimony, child support, assistance from outside the household, and other miscellaneous sources.

o Noncash benefits (such as food stamps and housing subsidies) do not count.

o Before taxes.

o Excludes capital gains or losses.

o If a person lives with a family, add up the incomeof all family members. (Non-relatives, such as housemates, do not count.)


Measure of need(poverty thresholds):


* Poverty thresholds are the dollar amounts used to determine poverty status

* Each person or family is assigned one out of 48 possible poverty thresholds

* Thresholds vary according to:

o Size of the family

o Ages of the members

* The same thresholds are used throughout the United States(do not vary geographically)

* Updated annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

* Although the thresholds in some sense reflect families needs,

o they are intended for use as a statistical yardstick, not as a complete description of what people and families need to live

o many government aid programs use a different poverty measure, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines, or multiples thereof

* Poverty thresholds were originally derived in 1963-1964, using:

o U.S. Department of Agriculture food budgets designed for families under economic stress

o Data about what portion of their income families spent on food

Census poverty thresholds are only useful when comparing census data. It's a good measure against other census bureau numbers but not necessarily useful for program eligibility determination (aid programs often use locally calculated poverty measures that more closely reflect the regional cost of living. For example, some housing programs compute eligibility based on a benchmark of local median income levels.

The percentage in poverty citations in the Grist article seem to track back to a census bureau product, the Current Population Survey (they are from a special supplement which includes data from the American Housing Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.) For those of you whose eyes haven't glazed over yet, these data are some of the gold standards of federal measurement.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Most people never stop to think of the impact poverty has on our society

As if they can turn their head the other way and by not seeing the suffering pretend all is well.

I'm a court appointed special advocate. What I do is advocate on behalf of the abused and neglected children in the court system. What I've seen is that poverty is the root cause behind the problems for many of the children I represent. It's painful to know that the suffering these children have endured was preventable. It's devastating to realize that many of them will never have a better life than the one their abusive parents are now living.

Yes, we need a new form of government to help the people.

[CrispyQ]

14. I wish we could make our government officials

live on $35k a year. Or better yet, minimum wage.

[Clara T]

15. And CEO's

32.7 -- percentage of net worth in the United States controlled by the top 1 percent of the population, in 2001

$46.5 billion -- net worth of the richest person in the world, Bill Gates, in 2005

http://www.grist.org/news/counter/2006/02/13/poverty/

Heck, $35,000 grand, what's that? I've never made near that. And everything keeps going up, up ,up.

How much will the air be next year?