The Technicalities of Counting the Poor One month after announcing that approximately 46 million Americans (~15%) are poor, the Census Bureau revised their number to include another 3 million people. What changed? The Census has decided to: 1. include non-cash welfare benefits; 2. account for medical care and transport; and 3. take into account the changing composition of families. (For a Census press release on income, poverty and health insurance in 2010, click here ). Who is poor? What does 'poor' mean? According to the Census Bureau's calculation - available in the press release noted above - poor in 2010 meant an income of $22,314 for a family of 4!!! That is a NATIONAL figure based on the Consumer Price Index and includes only the bare necessities of life. In any city in the USA, one person living on $22,314 would find it challenging. (For 30 years of poverty threshold data, click here ).Using data from CommunitiesCount - a government and non-profit collabora...
Thinking critically and writing provocatively about the implications of policy for people, places and politics. No fancy words, no jargon, just the facts, some questions, some answers and a whole lotta rant.