Reply to Income of $22,000 a year is considered the poverty line for a family of four- WTH?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Called the poverty line for a reason.  If you are at that point you are in actual poverty.  Not just having trouble making ends meet. [/quote]While I get your point here, I'm a bit dismayed at the kneejerk response.  This is supposed to help us figure out how many people are struggling in the United States but it no longer measures poverty the way it used to because the costs of things we need to live have changed. There is a legitimate case that it should be higher, because obviously more people are struggling to survive at these income levels than used to be the case.  Even if you don't care about whether people are poor, we ought to care that we have consistent measures - and this measure is not consistent over time.

From a site which explores this problem:
http://www.tolerance.org/activity/calculating-poverty-line
[quote]In 2012, the federal government set the poverty line for a family of four at $23,050. [b]The figure is based on food costs [/b]— the government identifies how much it should cost to feed a family of four for one year and then multiplies that number by three. [b]The formula has been used for decades.
[/b]
What it fails to capture is this: [b]In today's America, food expenses represent just one-fifth of the average household budget, not a third. [/b]Other costs — housing, health care, childcare and transportation — typically eat up larger portions of a family's budget. [/quote][/quote]

I agree that it should factor in more than just food costs (I know Section 8 adjusts by locality since housing costs vary so widely, in the DC area, the income limits are much higher than the federal poverty line). I was making just over $22K in the rural Midwest. Just me and an infant. Daycare was $125/wk and I got assistance, but it only covered 50%. I got WIC, but my child was formula fed and that covered about 60% of his food costs. Average rent (I lived on family land for free) was $500/mo for a crappy 1bd place, I found one place for $300, but there were holes in the floor and the windows were papered over. I think I qualified for Section 8, but there was a year waitlist. NO public transportation, so a car was a necessity. Baby was covered by Medicaid, I wasn't, so I skipped doctor and dentist visits for 3 years.

And that's just necessities. I also had lawyers bills from the 18mo long divorce and custody battle and student loans to deal with. I was lucky though, I had a degree and I was able to find a job. I had a place to live for free. I can't imagine living on that salary with more than one child. Or in this area. Considering how many kids are FARMS kids in the city, it really just blows my mind that people are living on that little.[/quote]

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