An alternative estimate based on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)1 brings the poverty level up to 47.4M—or 18.5% of the total U.S. population, as reported yesterday at The Washington Post by Hope Yen2. That's 7.6M more than what the U.S. Census reported earlier at just 39.8M—or 13.2% of the total population. That government estimate does not include other factors such as medical care, transportation, childcare or geographical differences in the cost of living, nor does it include non-cash government aid in their income calculations.
The NAS figures are higher than the original government estimates across racial groups except for Afrian Americans where it remains flat at 24.7%. Hope Yen’s report underscores the gravity of the situation, which hopefully should weigh in more strongly on how the federal stimulus program is being managed to impact directly on those in dire need.
1The NAS-based tables are available at: www.census.gov/hhes/www/povmeas/tables.html (Select:
Alternative Poverty Estimates Based on National Academy of Sciences Recommendations, by Selected Demographic Characteristics and by Region (CE): 2008
2Hope Yen of The Associated Press, “Revised formula puts 1 in 6 Americans in poverty”, The Washington Post, Oct. 20, 2009
The NAS figures are higher than the original government estimates across racial groups except for Afrian Americans where it remains flat at 24.7%. Hope Yen’s report underscores the gravity of the situation, which hopefully should weigh in more strongly on how the federal stimulus program is being managed to impact directly on those in dire need.
1The NAS-based tables are available at: www.census.gov/hhes/www/povmeas/tables.html (Select:
Alternative Poverty Estimates Based on National Academy of Sciences Recommendations, by Selected Demographic Characteristics and by Region (CE): 2008
2Hope Yen of The Associated Press, “Revised formula puts 1 in 6 Americans in poverty”, The Washington Post, Oct. 20, 2009
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