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In reply to the discussion: The Downward Trend for America's Working Class continues, unchecked. [View all]ProSense
(116,464 posts)52. Your first
"The "poverty line" as currently determined is out of date and woefully underestimates poverty."
...link is to a 2006 article. Still, the data is the same data used to make the claim I was addressing.
Also, from the second link you provided:
<...>
TOWARD A SOLUTION
To address the shortcomings of the poverty line, the Obama administration announced in March that it will begin publishing a supplemental poverty measure (SPM) that is similar to the one used by Bloomberg and is based largely on the recommendations of the NAS panel. The SPM will be calculated by determining the consumption spending of an average household at the 33rd percentile of income well above extreme deprivation, but below the national median. After determining what this household spends on basic consumptionsuch as food, housing, and medical carethe U.S. Department of Commerce will determine what a family needs to subsist at a basic level. This new line will be adjusted regionally by housing cost.
The Obama administration deserves praise for trying to craft a better measure of poverty. But the plan has two fundamental flaws. First, the SPM has no teeth. According to Blank, who is leading the administrations efforts, the supplemental measure will not replace the existing line when it comes to determining who is eligible for poverty programs or how poverty funding is allocated. Instead, the line will be an additional macroeconomic indicator that will provide a different way to assess the well-being of low-income households in America.11
<...>
Congress is expected to hold hearings on the poverty line this fall. Our recommendation to Congress and the Obama administration is simple: Make it count. Use the retooling of the poverty line as an opportunity to change the way data are collected on low-income households and to improve the way that policy and programs use the poverty line in determining eligibility and allocating funding. The ball is in motion. Now its time to make sure that our efforts make concrete improvements in the lives of those struggling to make ends meet.
Measuring poverty accurately is a must, but alone it is not enough. We need to expand our understanding of poverty. We must move beyond the line.
TOWARD A SOLUTION
To address the shortcomings of the poverty line, the Obama administration announced in March that it will begin publishing a supplemental poverty measure (SPM) that is similar to the one used by Bloomberg and is based largely on the recommendations of the NAS panel. The SPM will be calculated by determining the consumption spending of an average household at the 33rd percentile of income well above extreme deprivation, but below the national median. After determining what this household spends on basic consumptionsuch as food, housing, and medical carethe U.S. Department of Commerce will determine what a family needs to subsist at a basic level. This new line will be adjusted regionally by housing cost.
The Obama administration deserves praise for trying to craft a better measure of poverty. But the plan has two fundamental flaws. First, the SPM has no teeth. According to Blank, who is leading the administrations efforts, the supplemental measure will not replace the existing line when it comes to determining who is eligible for poverty programs or how poverty funding is allocated. Instead, the line will be an additional macroeconomic indicator that will provide a different way to assess the well-being of low-income households in America.11
<...>
Congress is expected to hold hearings on the poverty line this fall. Our recommendation to Congress and the Obama administration is simple: Make it count. Use the retooling of the poverty line as an opportunity to change the way data are collected on low-income households and to improve the way that policy and programs use the poverty line in determining eligibility and allocating funding. The ball is in motion. Now its time to make sure that our efforts make concrete improvements in the lives of those struggling to make ends meet.
Measuring poverty accurately is a must, but alone it is not enough. We need to expand our understanding of poverty. We must move beyond the line.
So the current poverty line, while inadequate, measures based on existing parameters. If the line changes, the data changes. So your point is really an apples to oranges comparison.
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It IS heart-breaking. One more statistic, one in six US children go to bed hungry every
sabrina 1
Jul 2013
#4
Sabrina, one big problem is that poor people don't vote regularly. Real change won't
bluestate10
Jul 2013
#8
I not only voted for Obama, I worked to get him elected and things are still getting
rhett o rick
Jul 2013
#65
The problem is much bigger than that. The media is propagandizing us, many that want to vote are
rhett o rick
Jul 2013
#64
Sabrina, not meaning to dismiss the severity of food insecurity (hunger) in the
HardTimes99
Jul 2013
#71
The minimum wage has to be increased to a level that single people and families can
bluestate10
Jul 2013
#5
No one that has the power to do anything about it genuinely cares to make it better.
HughBeaumont
Jul 2013
#10
The "poverty line" as currently determined is out of date and woefully underestimates poverty.
snot
Jul 2013
#46
Some people insist that America's Poor, the Working Poor, and the Soon to be Poor
bvar22
Jul 2013
#75
The only way to fight back is with a Union. The politicians and their owners do not care about you.
Skeeter Barnes
Jul 2013
#20
I am so sorry to hear that. Democrats cannot ignore the wage problem anymore. There are just too
liberal_at_heart
Jul 2013
#38
Bare in mind 9.5 making 500K will soon be worth twice that and twice again soon after
SleeplessinSoCal
Jul 2013
#28
I'm tired of Congress' action on minimum wage. Raising minimum wage just isn't enough anymore.
liberal_at_heart
Jul 2013
#37
Corporations are desperately trying to make the minimum wage the standard wage
PowerToThePeople
Jul 2013
#42
The thing is they raise the minimum wage, companies will merely hire part-time
duffyduff
Jul 2013
#83
what I want to know is if we now know it doesn't work why can't we change it?
liberal_at_heart
Jul 2013
#67
Because the elites who believe in it and profited from it control both political parties. n/t
duffyduff
Jul 2013
#84
And Obama has been fiddling for 5-1/2 years, while the U.S. burns. One of his solutions is to screw
MotherPetrie
Jul 2013
#76