The 'Poverty Line' Is Outdated

The 40-year old concept of a "poverty line" is showing its age and has not kept up with social and economic changes in the nation; we need a new benchmark.

1 minute read

September 18, 2002, 9:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"The federal government's reliance on the concept of the poverty line, an outdated measure that distorts the true picture of indigence in our nation... First developed in the early 1960s, the federal poverty line reflects economic and social realities completely different from those faced by families today... Over the last 40 years, the federal poverty level has been updated to reflect inflation, but not social and economic changes. For most families today, food constitutes less than a fifth of their budgets while higher costs of transportation, housing, health care and child care have created new burdens."

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Wednesday, September 18, 2002 in The Washington Post

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