Will the Revised Poverty Line Really Change Anything?

by Charlotte Hill · 2010-03-08 11:42:00 UTC
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Proof that the government can be responsive to activists' requests: the Obama administration has just revised America's fifty year-old poverty line to reflect the costs of housing, health care, transportation, proper nutrition, childcare and taxes, along with the extra income households receive from food stamps, housing vouchers and other forms of public support.

For the past few weeks, Poverty in America members have sent 100 letters to President Obama, asking him to update America's antiquated poverty measure according to the recommendations of the nonpartisan National Academy of Sciences. We've explained that keeping the poverty line unreasonably low -- $22,050 for a family of four -- ensures that Americans earning over $22,050 but still needing assistance are ignored by poverty alleviation programs. As of March 2, the Obama administration responded (well, probably not just because of us...), and we got our wish. Well, almost.

Don't expect to see the old measure disappear any time soon. According to the Department of Commerce, the traditional poverty line "will remain the definitive statistical measure" to determine eligibility for government assistance, while the supplemental measure "will be a more complex and refined statistic," helping public officials better understand the true scope of poverty in America and evaluate the success of anti-poverty programs.

So is there any real reason to celebrate? I think so. As fellow blogger Megan Greenwell writes, the new measure "will inform future conversations about poverty in America." Our government cannot hope to effectively fight poverty without clearly grasping how many Americans are poor and why they're struggling. As we discuss frequently on this blog, poverty isn't a simple issue that can be boiled down to one cause (regardless of what Colorado Rep. Spencer Swalm might say). The new poverty measure will help our lawmakers view poverty as a multidimensional issue, steering conversations away from "Why don't poor people just get a job?" to "How can we change structural factors to eliminate poverty altogether?"

What do you think? Are you satisfied with the administration's effort to update the federal poverty measure? Share your thoughts below!

Photo credit: Victor Bezrukov

Charlotte Hill currently serves as the social media fellow for EARN, a California nonprofit that helps low-income workers save money to create long-term prosperity.
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