Point Of Bipartisan Agreement: Poverty Stats Need Work

From free market purists to advocates of government jobs programs, there's a great deal of disagreement across the political spectrum on what should be done to help America's poorest, but many people of various political stripes agree that an update is definitely in order for the formula the government uses to set the poverty rate. The method of determining the poverty rate – the income below which a person or family is officially considered to be poor – has changed very little since the 1960s, when it was viewed as a tool in the War on Poverty.

The New York Times reports pressure is mounting to improve the index, which affects public policy both in assessing problems and in calculations used to develop solutions. A House Democrat is about to introduce legislation to require an update; a House Republican introduced a bill last year; and the city of New York, which already has its own poverty index, is offering technical assistance to cities considering similar updates.

Advocates for the poor have long argued that the current poverty level understates the number of Americans who are struggling to meet their basic needs. The U.S. Census Bureau's latest statistics indicate that the poverty rate held steady in 2007, with 12.5 percent of Americans – that's 37.3 million people – living below the poverty line, defined as an annual income of $21,203 for a family of four.

Polls show strong public support for measures to help the poor, such as expanding daycare, increasing the minimum wage and increased public spending on low income housing. Support varies when pollsters also ask about other priorities jockeying for position in the federal budget. A 2006 Pew Research Center survey found that while more than half of survey participants said dealing with the problems of poor and needy people should be a priority for Congress, many other issues were ranked as higher in importance.

These same mixed feelings also turn up when pollsters ask about policies concerning welfare and homelessness, with an overwhelming majority saying a homeless person who refused help and has caused no trouble to anyone should not be removed from the streets and forced to get help.

For more on this problem, check out our Poverty and Welfare issue guide and our Public Engagement discussion guide, which helps citizens consider some of the policy options that have been proposed.