[lit-ideas] Comparative definitions of the poor
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 24 May 2006 12:40:57 -0700
In the Wikipedia article on poverty - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty -
we learn that The World <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank_Group>
Bank defines extreme <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_poverty> poverty
as living on less than US$ (PPP
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity> ) 1 per day, and
moderate poverty as less than $2 a day. It has been estimated that in 2001,
1.1 billion people had consumption levels below $1 a day and 2.7 billion
lived on less than $2 a day. The proportion of the developing
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_world> world's population living
in extreme economic poverty has fallen from 28 percent in 1990 to 21 percent
in 2001.
The U.S. on the other hand figures out what a nutritious diet would cost and
multiplies that number by three figuring food costs as 1/3 of income. Thus
2003 HHS Poverty Guidelines
Size of
Family Unit
48 Contiguous
States and D.C.
Alaska
Hawaii
1
$ 8,980
$11,210
$10,330
2
12,120
15,140
13,940
3
15,260
19,070
17,550
4
18,400
23,000
21,160
5
21,540
26,930
24,770
6
24,680
30,860
28,380
7
27,820
34,790
31,990
8
30,960
38,720
35,600
For each additional
person, add
3,140
3,930
3,610
SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 68, No. 26, February 7, 2003, pp. 6456-6458.
So if we were told that more Americans fell below the poverty level between
1990 and 2001 whereas in the third world those in extreme poverty dropped
from 28% to 21% it might sound as though the U.S. is worse off than the
third world countries. But the U.S. and the World Bank use different
standards. The World Bank poverty level is $365 per year. The American
poverty level is $8,980 per year.
Europe uses a different standard still, but I couldn't get good information
on it. Their standard is relative rather than absolute. You are getting
poorer if the rich are getting richer - or something like that.
Lawrence
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