Change poverty measure

By C. NICOLE MASON

We need to update the way we measure poverty. We’re still using a yardstick from the 1960s.

Currently, the poverty level for a family of four is $21,200. There are about 37 million people and 7.7 million families living in poverty in the United States, according to this ancient tool.

But there could be more, or there could be fewer. We don’t know because the current poverty measure fails to take into account the social and economic realities Americans now face.

The measure was based on food costs at a time when food accounted for one-third of family expenses. But now food accounts for about one-seventh of family expenses, according to the National Center for Children in Poverty.

The current measure doesn’t account for housing costs, child care costs or health care costs. It also fails to factor in an individual’s geographic location; the standard is the same all over the country.

Recently, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., introduced the Measuring American Poverty Act. It would require a poverty gauge that would take into consideration medical and work expenses, the current cost of food, clothing, shelter, other basic necessities, and income from public assistance programs in deciding who is poor in America.

Critics of the bill worry that it would do more harm than good. They argue that there is a danger that the new measure would strip benefits away from needy families and individuals. Possible, but not likely. The new measure would not replace the current poverty measure; it would be used as a supplemental administrative tool by federal and state legislators until all of the kinks have been worked out.

In addition, the bill should also include an impact assessment study to determine how the new measure would affect benefits received by individuals and families and include true costs of living expenses that are adjusted for geographic location.

Promising talk

We’ve heard some promising talk about cutting poverty in half over the next ten years. But we can’t do that until we have an accurate measure of how many poor people there are living in our cities and communities.

Without such a measure, we have no way of knowing how deep the problem is or if that goal is even realistic, especially for the most vulnerable segments of our society. These include single women heads of households, who currently make up 4 million of those living below the poverty line.

The bill is a step in the right direction in terms of increasing our understanding of persistent poverty and inequality.

X Mason is a political scientist and the executive director of the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. She wrote this for Progressive Media Projects; it is affiliated with The Progressive magazine. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune.