New numbers from the National Academy of Science reveal an alarming 15.8 percent of Americans are below the federal poverty line. Original US Census Bureau numbers set the percentage at 13.2 percent—and underestimate of about 7 million people.

That means 1 in 6 Americans are living in poverty.

The US Census Bureau has not updated formula parameters for calculating poverty to reflect economic change since 1955; thus, increased costs of medical care, childcare, transportation as well as cost of living as it varies by geographic location are not accurately factored in to calculations.

This raises the question: how then is poverty defined? Since the 1960s the government has marked poverty in absolute terms, independent of outside factors and events. The US Census Bureau defines individuals or families who are below the “absolute poverty line” are considered to have insufficient resources to meet basic needs for healthy living and are without sufficient income for food, shelter, and clothing necessary to preserve health.

Absolute poverty line thresholds vary depending on collective income and number of family members, but generally if a family’s total income is less than its calculated “threshold” then they are considered poor.

These inflexible measures primarily overlooked people 65 and older—a growing population that is increasingly suffering from financial crisis due to health care costs.

As the US Census Bureau reexamines its methods for evaluating the citizen’s economic state, perhaps more important is our evaluation of the needs of 47.4 million impoverished Americans.

Tags: census, poverty

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