New Measure Shows Higher Poverty
Rate In U.S. (National Public Radio)
The government released a new experimental poverty measure Monday that found that the poverty rate was 16 percent last year – slightly higher than previously thought.
The new measure won’t replace the official one, but it is an effort to get a more accurate picture of who is and isn’t poor.
The official poverty measure has long been seen as inadequate. It doesn’t include government benefits that many poor people receive, such as food stamps. It doesn’t look at expenses such as health care or taxes. And it doesn’t account for regional differences in the cost of living… (Full story with audio here)
Related: Measures Supplemental Poverty Measure Overview (US Census Bureau)
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