Earthcharter

Reassessing poverty: A new measurement will enable better policy

Friday, 05 March 2010 19:58

Image credit: Center for American Progress

The significance of what it means to fall below the poverty line has changed significantly since measurements were first instituted in the 1960s. Originally based on the premise that food should comprise about 1/3 of a family's budget, the measurement is now flawed as the cost of food and other necessities has changed over the subsequent decades. According to the Center for American Progress the average person at the federal poverty line earned 50% of what an average American did at the time. Now, a person at the poverty line makes only 28% of what the average American does. Furthermore, the current measurements do not track the success of efforts to alleviate poverty.

This will soon change. The US Census Bureau has announced that they will release an alternative measurement of poverty in 2011. The Center for American Progress reports:

The new measure is not designed to replace the traditional measure. Eligibility for more than 80 public benefits is tied in some form to the current federal poverty measure, which will continue to be a useful tool in administering programs. Issuing a supplemental measure will not change eligibility for any government benefits or in and of itself cost the government one penny in additional poverty program expenditures.

But the new measure could prove transformative if it becomes the central basis by which we establish whether we are making progress on reducing poverty. Public debate on poverty and policies to alleviate it should be focused on this measure because it will more accurately capture whether the actual resources families have available are enough to meet their most basic needs. For the same reasons, public servants should be accountable for what progress they make according to this metric. The objective of this new poverty statistic can be compared to that of the unemployment rate, which in and of itself does not make a family eligible to receive unemployment benefits, but provides an aggregate picture of how the economy is faring and prompts action to create jobs and better target public policies.

You can read more from the Center for American Progress.