POVERTY IN AMERICA
Ch.7
HOW POVERT Y IS MEASURED
 Poverty status is determined by comparing annual
income to a set of dollar values called
 __________________
 that vary by family size, number of children, and age of
householder. If a family’s before-tax money income is
less than the dollar value of their threshold, then that
family and every individual in it are considered to be in
poverty.
 For people not living in families, poverty status is
determined by comparing the individual’s income to his
or her poverty threshold.
 http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10 -01 .pdf
POVERT Y IN THE U.S.
 About 16% of the nation’s poor are the elderly age
65 or older (this is up from 9% in 2009 ).
 About 18% of the nation’s poor are youth under the
age of 18 (with food stamps taken into account).
 More than 70% of poor children live in a family in
 ________________________________ .
 Although the majority of poor people are white, there
is a big difference in the poverty rate within racial
gorups: about 1/12 of white people are poor, about
1/4 of African Americans, and about 1/5 of
Latin/Hispanic Americans.
 http://ar ticles.philly.com/2011 -11-08/news/30373759_ 1_ pover ty -ratenational-pover ty -center -pover ty -exper ts, Living Justice and Peace
HI-LIGHTS: US CENSUS BUREAU
2009-2010
 • Nationally, the poverty rate increased from 14.3
percent in the 2009 ACS to 15.3 percent in the 2010
ACS. The number of people in poverty increased from
42.9 million to 46.2 million during the same time
period.
 • Thirty-two states experienced an increase in the
number and percentage of people in poverty between
2009 and 2010. For 20 states, this was the second
consecutive annual increase.
 • No state had a statistically significant decline in
either the number of people in poverty or the poverty
rate between 2009 and 2010.
 http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10 -01.pdf
POVERT Y RATES
AMONG THE STATES
 Poverty rates for the 50 states and the District of
Columbia ranged from a low of ____ percent in
New Hampshire to a high of _____percent in
Mississippi, according to the 2010 ACS.
 Poverty rates for Alaska (9.9 percent), Maryland
(9.9 percent), Connecticut (10.1 percent), and New
Jersey (10.3 percent) were among the lowest in the
nation.
 Poverty rates for Mississippi (22.4 percent) and
New Mexico (20.4 percent) were higher than all
other states .
 See Figure 1
 http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10 -01.pd
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
POVERT Y?
Nearness of Death
 For the poorest people in the U.S. there is a greater
risk of death due to chronic hunger, health problems,
 __________________
Marginalization
Inability to fully participate in the economic,
social, and political life of society
CHARACTERISTICS OF POVERT Y, CONT’D
 ‘ Living
on the edge’
 It doesn’t take much for people to fall into debt ; for
example, a car breakdown or illness
Cycle of Poverty
 Lack of basic resources create barriers from
obtaining other resources, continuing the cycle of
poverty. For example, without a car, it’s hard to keep
a job, and vice versa. Homelessness/hunger lead to
 ________________________________________
SOME PEOPLES’ POVERT Y PREVENTS
THEM FROM LIVING IN DECENT HOMES.
THEY INCLUDE:
 Those whose housing costs consume too much of
their income—they are likely to go hungry or lose
housing completely.
 Those who live in inadequate housing —it is broken
down.
 Those who live in others’ housing—they double up in
crowded apartments.
 Those who live in unsafe homes—violence, crime, and
substance abuse prevent homes from being
nurturing.
EDUCATION
 For a variety of reasons, children who live in poverty
lag behind peers when it comes to academic
achievement. Reasons include:
 _________________in ‘poor’ areas
 ____________: parents moving to where jobs are
available
 ________________of food and security not being met
BARRIERS TO FULL DEVELOPMENT
 A better lifestyle seems impossible (and is more
challenging to achieve) when you grow up in a
community where everyone you know is poor.
 People who live in poverty are denied the resources
necessary for their full development. This is
supported by Dr. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs. According to Maslow, individuals seek to fill
basic needs first, and then can move on to fill higher level needs of safety, love, self-esteem, and selfactualization.
So…what is Maslow’s
basic premise?
Which of these needs
do you hope to fulfill
in your life right now?
GOVERNMENT AID
The federal government spent about 9% of its
annual budget on aid to individuals and
families facing hardships.
For many families, this assistance is a lifeline
during a rough period.