Is the "Poverty Line" a line in the sand?

I read today that America has the same number of children under the Poverty Line as it did in 1966. That disturbed me as I could not see how after almost 30 years we have not made progress against this injustice.

But I started wondering if "The Line" is adjusted for inflation, if it includes some of the safety nets that have been installed since then, if it is relative to other American incomes or against some other standard of poverty in 3rd world countries.

I've heard "the poor in this country are obese." I wonder have all boats risen in this country in terms of standards of living or are we standing still or going backward? My gut feeling is we are getting better, but I really do not know.

If we can leave politics somewhat out of this and/or if it is easier to tabulate, we can leave Shrubenomics out of this and meausure up to 2000.

I'd like some facts if anyone has them.

Mahalo.

The formula used to calculate the FPL can be found on the US Census Bureau site. It is ridiculously low. They do not factor in standards of living in other countries.

I agree with your comments that we have made not made enough progress improving poverty, overall, in our country. There were great strides made post sixties but last year, the poverty rate increased.

It is important to note though, that the reason the actual number of those in poverty is the same as in 1966, yet the rate is lower, is due to a bigger population.

Currently, our poverty rate is at 13% of the population.

Financially, medical, Govt.programs, etc.

The lifespan of those in poverty is a lot lower than those who aren't and the quality of life/standard of living is horrendous. Not to mention, those in poverty have limited access to opportunity.

Furthermore, for many gov't programs that are means tested, one must fall BELOW the poverty rate to qualify, for some, as much as 200-300% below the FPL. You can find the criteria/reguirements for each program on the US Dept of Health and Human Services site, although, each state varies somewhat.

relative to other "poor" people in other countries. I realize that the poor are way worse off than the middle class - that would be true in just about any society.

Sorry for the confusion.

Housing costs have out stripped a person's income whether working or on pensions/disability/welfare etc.. Medical has been cut and cut and is going to be cut even more, soon.

Every six months or so people on Medicaid get notices about what medicines WILL NOT BE COVERED anymore.

Just another story out of many like it where a senior mobile home park has been sold to a development company in order to move out the low income seniors so Condominiums can be built on the site!

Government programs are being cut right and left. From health care/dental/mental health..to housing, senior programs, educational funding. SSI, Social Security SSDI and certain pensions are being threatened.

Certainly the SSI stipends haven't kept up with the cost of living AT ALL. A single adult on SSI receives approx.
$805 per month (in calif where the state has kicked in part of that sum) People who do have private insurance are finding their rates going up and their services being curtailed.

The cost of goods and services has skyrocketed. All the workaday people feel that one!

Jobs are temporary and picky in whom they hire these days (depending on where you live) Other jobs are low waged with no benefits if you have low or no skills. Still other jobs are constantly "downsizing" and laying people off.

If you are not a degreed professional, your life is a shit sandwich. There is NO stability.

I doubt the "Statisticians" have gathered all the data they REALLY need to make a thorough assessment.

If there are more fat poor people, it's likely that they're fat because high-calorie food is often cheap, while good quality meats and vegetables are expensive. Rich people can afford to be thin.

I hope we have at least made some progress on that front is what I was wondering.

the poor tend to eat a lot of junk food because it is cheap, and it is typically very fatty/and or starchy -- chips, candy, Cokes, potatoes, bread, fast food etc.

But, in the wealthiest nation in the world, our hunger rates are shameful especially when you consider the 60 million dollar PLUS salaries of CEOs of companies that recieve corporate welfare.

excerpt:
http://www.frac.org/html/hunger_in_the_us/hunger_index.html

One of the most disturbing and extraordinary aspects of life in this very wealthy country is the persistence of hunger. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports, based on a national U.S. Census Bureau survey of households representative of the U.S. population, that in 2003 11.2 percent of all U.S. households were "food insecure" because of lack of resources. Of the 12.6 million households that were food insecure, 3.9 million suffered from food insecurity that was so severe that USDA's very conservative measure classified them as "hungry."

Since 1999, food insecurity has increased by 2.1 million households, including 1.1 million households with children. In 2003, 36.3 million people lived in households experiencing food insecurity, compared to 33.6 million in 2001 and 31 million in 1999. See FRAC's analysis of and a link to the full report: Household Food Security in the United States, 2003

yet be deficient in ALL nutrients. In fact, the assumption that obese people are "well nourished" is entirely mistaken. Many obese people got that way through subsisting in nutrient-poor food.

In the past, poor people who were obese were said to be suffering from "starch bloat" because the typical poverty diet was dependent on cheap carbohydrates.

Nutritious foods are more expensive than things like Ramen Noodles.

You have to eat a shitload of mac and cheese and Wonderbread to get enough nutrients -- in order to get enough via cheap food you end up downing a lot of calories.

Starving to death is worse, yes; but dying of fat is pretty awful.

Fat children score the very lowest on all "quality of life" measures.

Someone making more than $32K can support a family of eight? Not bloody likely!

Also, the cost of living is so disparate in different areas of the U.S. that the number means almost nothing.

Seriously. There is no honest tabulator of the truth at this time.

There are those who have attempted to expose reality. I'm sorry that I don't have handy such information. But, it's out there. It would prolly take less than a half hour of your time to find it.

Not only is the FPL way too low, those in poverty are undercounted, particularly the homeless population.

Things are far worse than the UNITED STATES Census Bureau reports.