New census data released last week made national headlines for its grim news on America's historically high levels of poverty. However, a new paper reads between the lines, and concludes that the country is making progress in reducing poverty.
New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week was stark: median household income fell last year, the income gap between rich and poor hasn't been this wide in more than 40 years, and the number of Americans living in poverty remained at the highest number ever recorded.
However, as Derek Thompson reports, a new paper
from Bruce D. Meyer and James X. Sullivan say those statistics are misleading.
"We may not have won the war on poverty, but we are certainly winning,"
they write.
"When they looked at poorer families' consumption rather than income,
accounted for changes in the tax code that benefit the poor, and
included "noncash benefits" such as food stamps and government-provided
medical care, they found poverty fell 12.5 percentage points between 1972 and 2010," writes Thompson.
"What's the story? Tax cuts for the low-income combined with tax credits
for parents (such as the child tax credit) and working poor (like the
Earned Income Tax Credit) accounted for much of the collapse in poverty,
the authors find. Increases in Social Security also helped poverty
rates fall under 10 percent by the new measure."
FULL STORY: Why We're Really Winning the War on Poverty
Poverty Concentrating in Already High-Poverty Neighborhoods
A pair of reports analyzing U.S. Census Bureau poverty data from the last two decades show that high-poverty neighborhoods have become further impoverished.
Sunbelt Blues: Overlapping Poverty and Inequality
Poverty and inequality are bad things, but what happens when they coincide? A new study points to a startling increase in the number of U.S. counties suffering from both problems.
Advocates to Harvard: We Don't Need Another Study
After receiving a large grant to study poverty and income inequality, the Hutchins Center of African and African-American Studies finds itself having to justify the need to study the problems, rather than spending that money on programs or services.
Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.
San Francisco Muni Raises Fares a Second Time
A 10–cent fare hike for adults is part of the agency’s plan to chip away at a growing budget deficit.
Electric Grid Capacity Could Hamstring EV Growth
Industry leaders say the U.S. electric grid is unprepared for the increased demand for power created by electric cars, data centers, and electric homes.
Texas Bill Supports Adaptive Reuse in Commercial Areas
Senate Bill 840, which was preliminarily approved by the state House, would allow residential construction in areas previously zoned for offices and commercial uses.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions