New U.S. Poverty Measure to Supplement (but not replace) Old Formula
The federal government has been using the same measure of poverty since the 1960s. Much has changed since then, though, in terms of the living expenses and financial obligations of individuals and families. As a consequence, a change in how we determine the number of people in poverty has been long overdue. One of the reasons it has not come is because most experts believe that a more accurate measure will shine a light on more people in poverty, making for bad politics for whomever may be in power.
The Washington Post reports this morning that the Obama Administration is taking a signficant – not a complete, but a signficant – step toward a more accurate poverty measure. The Commerce Department will use a new formula in tandem with the old one as a sort of supplement to the data collected by the old formula.
While they are adopting a second formula, administration officials are largely sidestepping that political minefield by deciding to retain the old one as the basis for the official federal poverty line – the threshold underlying eligibility rules for assistance programs.
This new formula will be used for the first time in producing the 2010 Census report. Lawyers and law students who advocate for clients in poverty will never be short on work, unfortunately. But a more accurate measure of poverty will go a long way toward addressing it systemically.
A side note on the old poverty measure: Dorks people who watched the West Wing may remember the episode wherein Robe Lowe’s character mentioned Mollie Orshansky, a/k/a Ms. Poverty, who crafted the 1960s poverty thresholds. Here’s some more information on Ms. Orshanky and the process by which she developed the thresholds, courtesy of her former employer, the Social Security Administration. Her life story is fascinating. The daughter of poor Ukrainian immigrant parents, Ms. Orshansky was the first in her family to attend college and went on to a distinguished career in federal service – focusing on issues of economic security for families.