The Census Bureau has begun to revise its definition of what constitutes > poverty in the United States, experimenting with a formula that would drop > millions more families below the poverty line. The bureau's new approach > would in effect raise the income threshold for living above poverty to > $19,500 for a family of four, from the $16,600 now considered sufficient. > Suddenly, 46 million Americans, or 17 percent of the population, would be > recognized as officially below the line, not the 12.7 percent announced > last month, the lowest level in nearly a decade. A strong economy has > undoubtedly lifted many families but not nearly as many as the official > statistics suggest. Housing, like health insurance, is a big hurdle. The > poor are twice as likely as the nonpoor to rent rather than own their > homes, according to a Labor Department study. The nation's poor are four > times as likely as the nonpoor to have their utilities cut off, the Labor > Department also found (Louis Uchitelle, writing in The New York Times, > page 1). Does anyone know what the theory is that the new definition of the poverty line is based on? is this based on Patricia Ruggles' research? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/~JDevine
