Poverty in United States
[pic]Poverty in the United States
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|[pic] |Parts of this article (those related to the 2010 poverty definition reform) are outdated. Please update this article to | | |reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010) |
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Impoverished area near 125th Street in Harlem, New York, which was subsequently demolished for new commercial development. Poverty in the United States is cyclical in nature with roughly 13 to 17% of Americans living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10-year time span. Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.[1] Approximately 43.6 (14.3%) million Americans were living in poverty in 2009, up from 39.8 million (13.2%) in 2008.[2] The government 's definition of poverty is not tied to an absolute value of how much an individual or family can afford, but is tied to a relative level based on total income received. For example, the poverty level for 2011 was set at $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four.[3] Most Americans (58.5%) will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.[4] There remains some controversy over whether the official poverty threshold over- or understates poverty. The most common measure of poverty in the United States is the "poverty threshold" set by the U.S. government. This measure recognizes poverty as a lack of those goods and services commonly taken for granted by members of mainstream society.[5] The official threshold is adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index. Relative poverty describes how income relates to the median income, and does not imply that the person is lacking anything. In general the United States has
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
|[pic] |Parts of this article (those related to the 2010 poverty definition reform) are outdated. Please update this article to | | |reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010) |
[pic]
[pic]
Impoverished area near 125th Street in Harlem, New York, which was subsequently demolished for new commercial development. Poverty in the United States is cyclical in nature with roughly 13 to 17% of Americans living below the federal poverty line at any given point in time, and roughly 40% falling below the poverty line at some point within a 10-year time span. Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.[1] Approximately 43.6 (14.3%) million Americans were living in poverty in 2009, up from 39.8 million (13.2%) in 2008.[2] The government 's definition of poverty is not tied to an absolute value of how much an individual or family can afford, but is tied to a relative level based on total income received. For example, the poverty level for 2011 was set at $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four.[3] Most Americans (58.5%) will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.[4] There remains some controversy over whether the official poverty threshold over- or understates poverty. The most common measure of poverty in the United States is the "poverty threshold" set by the U.S. government. This measure recognizes poverty as a lack of those goods and services commonly taken for granted by members of mainstream society.[5] The official threshold is adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index. Relative poverty describes how income relates to the median income, and does not imply that the person is lacking anything. In general the United States has
References: 31. ^ "Poverty Is a Persistent Reality for Many Rural Children in U.S.", William O 'Hare (September 2009), Population Reference Bureau. 32. ^ http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/47/2/41528678.pdf 33 [edit] Further reading • Caudill, Harry (1962)