Toward a new measure of poverty

Posted by on September 7, 2009

In search of an updated measure for poverty

The federal poverty measure is deeply flawed, writes Mark Greenberg of the Center for American Progress. Established in the 1960s and “low and in many ways arbitrary,” current poverty metrics don’t consider tax credits and food stamps, omit key family expenses, and don’t adjust for geographical variation. Important federal policies, drafted to aid families, continue to fall short. The pending Measuring American Poverty Act would direct the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics to adopt measures based on recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). An NAS panel would develop a “decent living standard” measure that would be considerably higher than even an improved poverty measure. Whether or not this moves forward, the Obama administration can adopt a new “decent living standard” administratively without awaiting legislation. “Now is the logical time for the administration or Congress to act to improve the poverty measure,” Greenberg writes. “Doing so would provide a more accurate picture of how many people are falling into poverty during the recession and who they are, and it would ensure that the administration’s policies and performance can be gauged against a consistent measure that reflects the impacts of a broad range of policies.”

Read more: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/08/new_poverty_measure.html