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WASHINGTON -- A record number of Americans – 49.1 million – are poor, based on a new census measure that for the first time takes into account rising medical costs and other expenses.
The numbers released Monday are part of a first-ever supplemental poverty measure aimed at providing a fuller picture of poverty. Although considered experimental, they promise to stir fresh debate over Social Security, Medicare and programs to help the poor as a congressional supercommittee nears a Nov. 23 deadline to make more than $1 trillion in cuts to the federal budget.
Based on the revised formula, the number of poor people exceeds the record 46.2 million, or 15.1 percent, that was officially reported in September......................................... ....
I've been griping for YEARS that the official government definition of poverty is so lame that it is of little practical or meaningful use. It was created in the 1960s and is based on the cost of an "economy food budget" as defined by USDA. Specifically, the poverty line is set at three times the cost of said economy food budget and this number was picked because at the time, food represented one-third of the average American's budget. Food today is a much smaller part of the budget, making the official definition of poverty one of declining accuracy and relevance.
Even the 'expanded' measure of poverty inexplicably fails to consider housing costs, which are a major factor in financial difficulty. Older people who are officially poor often benefit greatly from low housing costs due to owning unmortgaged homes and enjoying property tax breaks. High rents make many working renters worse off than retired homeowners, despite having higher incomes, so many renters defined as not-poor are actually worse off financially than poor homeowners, which is why the expanded measure of poverty is still lame.
Well that 49 million matches up with the 45 million on food stamps..gives it some credibility.
That's because a lot of people qualify for food stamps based on high medical expenses. Which suggests that food stamp eligibility is more rational than the government definition of poverty.
Not to worry, the Obama administration will change how "poor" is determined prior to the elections so he can claim he pulled 25 million out of poverty.
This is unfortunate. People here in American shouldn't be poor, and if they are, we should do as much as we can. I believe Section 8, food stamps, and other programs help with this, but we need to be doing more to resolve the issue. We WERE the greatest country in the world...
I've been griping for YEARS that the official government definition of poverty is so lame that it is of little practical or meaningful use. It was created in the 1960s and is based on the cost of an "economy food budget" as defined by USDA. Specifically, the poverty line is set at three times the cost of said economy food budget and this number was picked because at the time, food represented one-third of the average American's budget. Food today is a much smaller part of the budget, making the official definition of poverty one of declining accuracy and relevance.
Even the 'expanded' measure of poverty inexplicably fails to consider housing costs, which are a major factor in financial difficulty. Older people who are officially poor often benefit greatly from low housing costs due to owning unmortgaged homes and enjoying property tax breaks. High rents make many working renters worse off than retired homeowners, despite having higher incomes, so many renters defined as not-poor are actually worse off financially than poor homeowners, which is why the expanded measure of poverty is still lame.
The poverty line is defined under the official measure as $11,139 for an individual, or $22,314 for a family of four.
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You know how "rich" they are!!!!
