Poverty in the U.S.A.

Absolute poverty refers to a set standard which is consistent over time and between countries.

Absolute poverty [as] a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services.

-- 1995 United Nations World Summit on Social Development

Relative poverty refers to a set standard which is relative to time and space. People’s poverty are compared to the society in which they live, and not some fixed point.

„...the real explanation of why the poor are where they are is that they made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents, in the wrong section of the country, in the wrong industry, or in the wrong racial or ethnic group. Once that mistake has been made, they could have been paragons of will and morality, but most of them would never even have had a chance to get out of the other America.”

Michael Harrington’s The Other America (1962) influences a nation (specifically, the political elite)

Development of the Poverty Measure in the U.S.A.

The War on Poverty declared in a State of the Union Address by Lyndon Johnson in 1964:

„Let us carry forward the plans and programs of John Fitzgerald Kennedy--not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right... Unfortunately, many Americans live on the outskirts of hope--some because of their poverty, and some because of their color, and all too many because of both. Our task is to help replace their despair with opportunity.

This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.”

See: http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3382

The poverty thresholds were originally developed in 1963-1964 by Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration.

Orshansky took a hypothetical average family spending one third of its income on food, and assumed that it had to cut back on its expenditures sharply. She multiplied this amount by three. According to Orshansky, if a family’s annual income was below three times the annual cost of basic groceries, they were poor. This is called “Mollie’s Measure.”

"if it is not possible to state unequivocally 'how much is enough,' it should be possible to assert with confidence how much, on an average, is too little." – M. Orshansky

The 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the48 Contiguous States and the District of

Columbia

Persons in family Poverty guideline1 $10,830

2 14,570

3 18,310

4 22,050

5 25,790

6 29,530

7 33,270

8 37,010

For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.

Legislation enacted in late 2009 and early 2010 prohibited publication of 2010 poverty guidelines before May 31, 2010, and required that the 2009 poverty guidelines remain in effect until publication of updated guidelines. 

Legislation to further delay publication of the 2010 guidelines did not pass.  The procedure for updating the 2010 guidelines was modified to take into account the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for the period for which their publication was delayed. 

As a result, the poverty guideline figures for the remainder of 2010 — given below — were the same as the 2009 poverty guideline figures.

Source: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/10poverty.shtml

„In 2009, 43.6 million people were in poverty, up from 39.8 million in 2008—the third consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty”

Source: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf

Race All People Children(under 18 years old)

Families with Female

Householder, No Husband

present All races 14.3% 20.7% 32.5%

White alone, non-Hispanic

9.4% 11.9% 23.8%

Black alone 25.8% 35.7% 39.7%Asian alone 12.5% 14% 18.5%Hispanic of any race

25.3% 33.1% 40.6%

Poverty Rate of People by Race, Age (under 18 years old), and Family Relationship (i.e. Families with Female Householder, no Husband present) for 2009

Sources: http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p60-238.pdf and http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/historical/people.html

Poverty Rate in U.S. for People 18 – 64 Years Old by Race, 1966 - 2009

Poverty Rate in U.S. for People Under 18 Years Old by Race, 1959 - 2009

White, non-Hispanic 10.4 Income Less than

$25,000 24.5

Black 19.5 Income $25,000 to $49,999 21.1

Hispanic 32.1 Worked Full-Time in Past Year 17

Age 18 to 34 26.9 Worked Part-Time in Past Year 23.4

Foreign Born, Not a Citizen 43.8

Who Did Not Have Health Insurance in America in 2008? (%)

Source: U.S. Census. In 2008, 15.4%, or 46.2 million people in America, did not have health insurance.

Why are some people poor?

Individual explanationsIndividual explanationsFocus on characteristics of the individual, including their psychology (present-time orientation) and their biology (low I.Q.).

Culture of Poverty explanationsCulture of Poverty explanationsPoor were not born with deficient qualities. Instead, they acquired deficient values via inter-cultural transmission.

Structural explanationsStructural explanationsFocus on characteristics of the society, including form of economy and political situation. In America, capitalism, deindustrialization, and dominant attitudes toward the poor.

Who was Mollie Orshansky?