The United States recorded the dubious achievement of pushing more individuals into low income than at any time within the last 50 years. A Census Bureau report released Sept. 16 revealed that 43 million within the United States could possibly be officially determined as living in poverty. The number represents 14.3 percent of the United States population. The year prior, 13.2 % fell below the poverty line. Republicans are already using the brand new poverty statistics to criticize the Obama administration as midterm elections draw near. However a broader look over time indicates that conditions arose when Republicans were in power that contributed to today’s low income rate. Advocates for the poor say the low income level isn’t an accurate metric for understanding the true nature of the problem. Conservatives say it exaggerates the problem. The government agrees with both sides and will begin using a different set of measurements next year with the objective of getting a clearer picture of United States poverty.
Low income threshold an impractical standard
A low income level increase was no surprise. Many experts actually expected it to be higher. Soe said it would come in at nearly 15 percent. As outlined by a Census Bureau official interviewed by CNN, a decline in elderly citizens falling below the low income threshold from 9.7 to 8.9 % kept the poverty level from ticking higher. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum income deemed necessary for an adequate standard of living. Most people would think that the poverty threshold comes nowhere close to making that possible. The Census Bureau has been using an established range. About $22,000 a year qualifies a family of four as poor.
Searching to define poverty
Poverty threshold methodology was created nearly 50 years ago. The baseline was how much money a family needs to be adequately fed. MSNBC reports that experts say current methods of calculating the number of Americans living in poverty fails to think about essential factors beyond income. In an interview with MSNBC, Shawn Fremstad of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said the poverty threshold in 2010 does not come close to what a family demands to survive in modern-day America. Beginning next year, Census officials will add elements such as tax credits and occupation-related expenditures to come up with a more definitive low income threshold. Comparing the financially poor with the rest of the population depending on median income could give a more accurate reading, according to Fremstad. United States household median income was $49,777 last year.
Blame, however no solutions
The upcoming November ballot gives the latest low income figures more attention than usual. Opponents of the Obama administration say its policies are causing the problem . Yet poverty did not fall during the Bush era economic expansion in the 2000s. The Washington Independent reports that the low income rate rose during the 2001 recession and continued afterward, according to testimony in Congress last year by Rebecca Blank of the Commerce Department. The poverty rate rose .08 percent during the 2000s expansion. More people were financially poor in the U.S. after seven years of financial growth. The low income rate already had momentum as the Great Recession began. Eight years of Republican power gave it a big head start.
Further reading
CNN
cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/20/meyer.sullivan.census.poverty/index.html
MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/39211644/ns/us_news-life/
Fox News
politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/09/15/rnc-supports-odonnell-delaware-nrsc-changes-tune
Washington Independent
washingtonindependent.com/97318/poverty-in-the-recession
