50 Facts About The U.S. Economy That Will Shock You

[TheGame]

Originally Posted by Bond

The problem with a lot of these statistics (such as "low income" and "poverty") is that they are not adjusted for cost of living differences.

Examples?

I'm pretty sure they're basing what they call 'poverty' off of that the federal government considers to be poverty which is essentially based on the price of living.

[Bond]

Originally Posted by TheGame

Examples?

I'm pretty sure they're basing what they call 'poverty' off of that the federal government considers to be poverty which is essentially based on the price of living.

Sorry, I should have given what I said more than a one sentence explanation.

It is based off of what the federal government considers poverty, which is the problem. Let's say we have a family of four that makes $20,000. Would this family be impoverished if they lived in New York City? Certainly. What about in rural Texas? Perhaps not. You're looking at significant state income tax differences (Texas has no state income tax), sales tax differences, and general cost of livings differences. The problem is that the federal government has one number for poverty and low-income cutoffs, but that number is not created equal in every part of our country.

[Jason1]

Originally Posted by Bond

Sorry, I should have given what I said more than a one sentence explanation.

It is based off of what the federal government considers poverty, which is the problem. Let's say we have a family of four that makes $20,000. Would this family be impoverished if they lived in New York City? Certainly. What about in rural Texas? Perhaps not. You're looking at significant state income tax differences (Texas has no state income tax), sales tax differences, and general cost of livings differences. The problem is that the federal government has one number for poverty and low-income cutoffs, but that number is not created equal in every part of our country.

I'm sorry, I guess I see the point your trying to make, but this is idiotic. I dont care where in the United States you are living, if your a family of 4 with a total household income of only $20,000, YOU ARE POOR.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Jason1

I'm sorry, I guess I see the point your trying to make, but this is idiotic. I dont care where in the United States you are living, if your a family of 4 with a total household income of only $20,000, YOU ARE POOR.

I'm not sure Bond used the best example, but there are vast differences in cost of living across the U.S. I addition. the definition of poverty continues to change depending on who makes that delineation and what types of policies they want to support.

In my opinion, unless I see exactly what this author is referencing to define poverty, I don't take any opinion based on that reference seriously.

[TheGame]

Originally Posted by Bond

Sorry, I should have given what I said more than a one sentence explanation.

It is based off of what the federal government considers poverty, which is the problem. Let's say we have a family of four that makes $20,000. Would this family be impoverished if they lived in New York City? Certainly. What about in rural Texas? Perhaps not. You're looking at significant state income tax differences (Texas has no state income tax), sales tax differences, and general cost of livings differences. The problem is that the federal government has one number for poverty and low-income cutoffs, but that number is not created equal in every part of our country.

Basically, you're saying since there's exceptions to the actual 'end' figure given for certain areas, the numbers may be misleading? I can agree with that.

But if the relitive numbers to previous statistics are increasing, it's still bad though. They should have used previous numbers as a measuring stick. From what I've read, the numbers of people in poverty are high, but they're definently not even close to an all time high. But we ARE moving in the wrong direction.