Alabama poverty rate would decline under new formula, says study, By Dan Murtaugh, November 12, 2009, Mobile Press-Register: “Alabama’s poverty rate is lower than the national average when regional differences in housing costs are taken into account, according to a recent study. Both Alabama and Mississippi are among several Southeastern states whose poverty rates decrease under such a formula. The study, written by Dorothy Smith at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C., aims to highlight the need to modernize how poverty is measured. Kristina Scott, executive director of the Alabama Poverty Project, said a study of regional differences in poverty needs to take into account more than just housing costs. But overall, she agreed that officials need new ways to measure the problem…”

• Persistent poverty in Northern Ireland ‘twice that of Great Britain’, November 12, 2009, Belfast Telegraph: “The level of persistent poverty in Northern Ireland children is more than double that of those in Great Britain, it was revealed today. High levels of unemployment, disability, lower wages and poor quality part-time jobs were to blame, a study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) discovered. A fifth of families in Northern Ireland experienced persistent poverty compared to a tenth in Great Britain in recent years. Julia Unwin, chief executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, called for action by the Assembly…”
• NI has worst child poverty in UK, November 12, 2009, BBC News: “The level of persistent child poverty in Northern Ireland is more than double that of the rest of the United Kingdom, new research has found. The study, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, found that high levels of unemployment, disability and poor quality part-time jobs were to blame. The charity defines poverty as the experience of a family with an income which is 60% below the UK average…”

Who’s poor? Proposal aims for better measurement, By Ruben Rosario, November 4, 2009, Pioneer Press: “I need to cut a piece of wood that is precisely 36 inches long and 5 inches wide. I have two measurement tools at my disposal. I already know the distance between the tips of my outstretched thumb and pinky - 9 inches. I also have a tape measure. Both will do the job, but one will provide a more accurate and efficient measurement. Which leads me to a bill in Congress that, if passed, will change the way we define and measure poverty in Minnesota and across the nation for policy-making and public assistance purposes. Whether the proposed change will be significant, increasing or decreasing who’s officially poor and who is not, is open to debate. The Measuring Poverty in America Act of 2009 seeks to replace the current federal poverty-level guideline used to determine the nation’s poverty rate as well as an individual’s or a family’s eligibility for public assistance benefits that can range from food stamps to state-subsidized health care…”

• Report: 1 in 4 Israelis poor, By Yael Branovsky, November 2, 2009, Ynetnews: “The beginning of the financial crisis did not affect the figures of poverty in Israel, which remained almost unchanged last year, according to the National Insurance Institute’s Poverty Report for 2008. Nonetheless, the data published Monday point to an extremely grim picture: There are 1,651,300 needy people living in Israel, including 783,600 children. The percentage of poor people in Israel dropped slightly to 23.7%. In other words, one in four Israelis is defined as needy. According to NII officials, the financial crisis’ influence, which was partly seen in the second half of 2008, compensated for the rise in income in the first half of the year. The results of the crisis erased the improvement in the dimensions of poverty among families and children. However, many families are now above the poverty line, thanks to allowances they are receiving…”
• Number of working poor grows, By Shay Niv, November 2, 2009, Globes: “The beginnings of a fall in the rate of poverty in Israel seen in the second half of 2007 and the first half of 2008 were wiped out in the second half of 2008, because of the economic crisis. This emerges from the 2008 Poverty Report, released by the National Insurance Institute of Israel today. The dimensions of poverty in 2008 were the same as in 2007, placing Israel at the head of the ladder of developed countries with especially high rates of poverty, alongside the US and Mexico. According to the data, 420,000 Israeli families lived in poverty in 2008. Poverty affected 1.65 million people, 783,000 of them children. In other words, one in every three Israeli children is poor…”

• Poverty study receives praise, By Amanda McElfresh, October 26, 2009, Daily Advertiser: “Local researchers who study poverty and its effects across the state say they are encouraged by the U.S. Census Bureau’s decision to release revised estimates of how many Americans are living in poverty. The new formula, developed in part by the National Academy of Science, shows that about 47.4 million Americans lived in poverty last year, about seven million more than originally estimated. In addition, almost 18 percent of children lived in poverty, a slight decrease from the number found using the traditional formula…”
• 3.6M older Americans living in poverty, By Saul Friedman, October 23, 2009, Newsday: ” We cannot take much comfort in the latest census figures on poverty among older Americans. It is true that the 2008 poverty rate, 9.7 percent among people 65 and older, was unchanged from 2007. But that 9.7 percent, according to the census tables, represents about 3.6 million people who are living on $10,326 a year, or $14,051 for a couple. That probably means Social Security is their only income; indeed, for half the population over 65, Social Security is the primary source of income. Yet, those figures don’t take into full account of the effects of the prolonged and deepening recession on older people…”
• U.S. needs better way measure poverty, By Terry Haven, October 23, 2009, Salt Lake Tribune: “On Oct. 19, the Census Bureau released alternate poverty rates based on recommendations from a National Academy of Sciences panel on measuring poverty. No state data were given in the report, but new figures show a national poverty rate of 15.8 percent rather than the 13.2 percent poverty rate released just weeks ago using the traditional formula. The poverty rate for the Western Region rose from 13.5 percent to 19 percent. There is increasing agreement among policymakers and advocates that the current federal poverty measure is broken and outdated. The advent of these poverty figures is a good time to reflect on the inadequacies of our poverty measure and the crucial need to update this outdated statistic…”

America’s 10 poorest cities, By Joshua Zumbrun, October 19, 2009, ABC News: “The Great Recession is rewriting the rules of American poverty. Data from the Census Bureau, released in September, show that during the first year of the recession, incomes fell farther and poverty leaped higher than during almost any other time in a generation. In 2008, U.S. median income fell to $50,303 from $52,163 in 2007. That 3.6% decline is the largest one-year drop since records begin. The poverty rate increased to 13.2% from 12.5%, meaning the recession has brought 2.6 million more Americans into poverty. The Economic Policy Institute projects that in the next two years, incomes could decline by another $3,000 and poverty could increase by 1.9 percentage points. Just as the recession has changed the map of unemployment, it has redrawn the contours of poverty…”

• Poverty is up, but how much? Census tells two stories, By Mark Trumbull, October 20, 2009, Christian Science Monitor: “The way you measure poverty makes a big difference in the results you get. The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 15.8 percent of Americans lived in poverty last year, using an alternative gauge that differs sharply from the 13.2 percent official poverty rate the agency released last month. The difference is even starker for some specific groups within America. For example, Americans over age 65 have a poverty rate that’s twice as high - 18.7 percent - using the alternative measure. In all, 47.4 million Americans lived in poverty last year, or 7 million more than indicated in official poverty statistics last month…”
• Is poverty at 40 million - or 47 million?, October 20, 2009, msnbc.com: “How should poverty in America be counted? The Census Bureau uses a calculation that put the number at 39.8 million last year. But a revised formula that lawmakers are considering adds more than 7 million Americans to that number. If the revised formula is adopted, a more refined picture of American poverty could emerge that would capture the everyday costs of necessities besides food. A change also could upend long-standing notions of those in greatest need and lead to shifts in how billions of federal dollars for the poor are distributed for health, housing, nutrition and child care…”

Revised formula puts 1 in 6 Americans in poverty, By Hope Yen (AP), October 20, 2009, Washington Post: “The level of poverty in America is even worse than first believed. A revised formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations show that approximately 47.4 million Americans last year lived in poverty, 7 million more than the government’s official figure. The disparity occurs because of differing formulas the Census Bureau and the National Academy of Science use for calculating the poverty rate. The NAS formula shows the poverty rate to be at 15.8 percent, or nearly 1 in 6 Americans, according to calculations released this week. That’s higher than the 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million, figure made available recently under the original government formula. That measure, created in 1955, does not factor in rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs. Nor does it consider non-cash government aid when calculating income. As a result, official figures released last month by Census may have overlooked millions of poor people, many of them 65 and older…”

We need to fix how we measure poverty, By Anne Stuhldreher, October 13, 2009, Sacramento Bee: ” From climate change to redistricting, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have teamed up on a number of issues. It’s time to add another to the list — updating the antiquated and misleading way we measure poverty. It may seem like an odd concern for the Republican duo. But Bloomberg took the lead on the issue last year when conditions in New York City were similar to those California faces today: The economy was down; need was rising; and public resources were constrained. A number-cruncher by trade, Bloomberg turned to statistics to shed light on those suffering in the economic gloom. “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” he was quoted as saying. His questions were basic: What people and places in New York have the greatest need? How could the city best deploy its limited public dollars to meet them? And what impact were its current programs having?…”

• Census data show falling income, By Kate Linthicum and DeeDee Correll, September 30, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “Reporting from Los Angeles and Denver - In 2008, the median household income in the United States plummeted 3.6% from the year before, and the percentage of people living in poverty soared to an 11-year high, recently released U.S. Census data reveal. Economists say the bleak news — which they blame on the slew of layoffs that have accompanied the economic downturn — is significant, if not entirely surprising…”
• Poverty in Ohio spreading and getting worse, By Catherine Candisky and Alan Johnson, September 30, 2009, Columbus Dispatch: “Crushing job losses and rising unemployment pushed nearly one in five Marion County residents into poverty last year, the highest rate among the state’s larger counties, according to new U.S. Census statistics. Marion County’s 2008 poverty rate of 19.4 percent represents a jump of more than half in only two years for the county of 66,396 people about an hour north of Columbus…”
• Child poverty in Baltimore declines, By Brent Jones, September 30, 2009, Baltimore Sun: “Despite a decrease in poverty among city children, nearly one in five Baltimore residents were living below federal poverty levels in 2008, according to Census Bureau data released Tuesday. Census Bureau data showed that 19 percent of Baltimore’s population lived in poverty last year, putting Maryland’s most populous city well above the national rate of 13 percent…”
• Experts say LI rate underestimates level of poverty, By Olivia Winslow, September 30, 2009, Newsday: “Long Island’s poverty rates remained largely unchanged in 2008 from the previous year, continuing to fall well below national and state levels, according to new census data out Tuesday. But experts say the figures likely underestimate the level of poverty here, since the region’s high cost of living is not factored into the federal poverty formula…”
• Public aid need grows in Oklahoma, census finds, By Vallery Brown and Paul Monies, September 29, 2009, The Oklahoman: “Nearly one in four Oklahoma families with children younger than 18 were on some type of public assistance in 2008, according to newly released census estimates. Public assistance includes food stamps and supplemental Social Security income…”
• Requests for help contradict statistics, By Kevin Duggan, September 30, 2009, Fort Collins Coloradoan: “Poverty rates in Larimer County appeared to level off in 2008 after rising sharply in the early part of the decade, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. But information in the bureau’s American Community Survey does not reflect the current level of poverty around the county brought on by the economic downturn and the loss of jobs, say local agencies that work with low-income residents…”
• County hit with sharp rise in level of poverty, By Lori Weisberg, October 1, 2009, San Diego Union-Tribune: “Poverty in San Diego County rose last year to its highest level this decade, fresh evidence of the financial toll the county’s prolonged recession and heavy job losses are taking on the region’s neediest households. In all, nearly 367,000 individuals were living in poverty - almost 46,000 more than a year earlier, according to data released this week by the Census Bureau…”

Fresh eyes for poverty guidelines, By Josh Gerstein, September 14, 2009, Politico.com: “Two academics who are vocal critics of the federal government’s antiquated system for measuring poverty have landed important jobs in the Obama Administration, though it’s unclear whether they can overcome the political inertia that has left the current system largely undisturbed for more than four decades. The two Obama appointees - Rebecca Blank, former dean of the public policy school at the University of Michigan, and Georgetown Law professor Mark Greenberg - are part of a dedicated band of scholars who have argued for years that the Federal Poverty Guidelines are a badly warped yardstick for poverty because they are derived solely from food costs and don’t take account of a wide array of valuable benefits lower-income Americans get from federal and local governments…”

• Recession’s cost: More in poverty, without health coverage, By Tony Pugh, September 10, 2009, Miami Herald: “The early impact of the worst recession since the 1930s pushed median incomes down, forced millions more people into poverty and left more Americans without health care in 2008, according to new annual survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau…”
• Recession’s toll: more Americans in poverty, without health insurance, By Mike Swift and Steve Johnson, September 11, 2009, San Jose Mercury News: “Surveying the pain of the first full year of the recession, a new U.S. Census Bureau report shows that household income has dropped, millions more are in poverty - and for the eighth year in a row, fewer Americans are covered by private health insurance…”
• Recession takes a toll as US poverty surges, By Mark Trumbull, September 11, 2009, Christian Science Monitor: “America’s poverty rate surged upward last year, underscoring the toll of recession on ordinary households across the nation. Some 13.2 percent of Americans were living below the poverty line in 2008, the Census Bureau said Thursday. That’s a significant jump from the 12.5 percent poverty rate a year earlier. The rise means that nearly 40 million Americans are living in poverty, defined by incomes of less than $10,991 for an individual or $22,025 for a family of four…”
• Government programs helped control tally of uninsured, By Richard Wolf, September 10, 2009, USA Today: “The Census Bureau added some clarity Thursday to the fierce debate over government’s role in health care: Without government intervention, the number of uninsured would have soared last year. Though the 46.3 million people without health insurance in 2008 was slightly more than in 2007, private and employer-based insurance declined significantly. What made up the difference: Medicare, Medicaid and the state Children’s Health Insurance Program…”
• Rolls of privately insured Americans dip, census report says, By Bill Barrow, September 11, 2009, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “As Congress grapples with legislation that could expand health insurance coverage nationally, a U.S. Census Bureau report issued Thursday found that the number and percentage of Americans with private insurance fell from 2007 to 2008. The number of people with employer-based coverage also fell, while the rolls of government insurance programs increased. Altogether, the percentage of people without health insurance of any kind remained about the same, but the numbers reflect the correlation between a weakening economy and access to the private insurance market…”

• Poverty rate rose in 2008, Census finds, By Erik Eckholm, September 10, 2009, New York Times: “In the recession last year, the nation’s poverty rate climbed to 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007, according to an annual report released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The report also documented a decline in employer-provided health insurance and in coverage for adults. The rise in the poverty rate, to the highest level since 1997, portends even larger increases this year, which has registered far higher unemployment than in 2008, economists said…”
• Census: Income fell sharply last year, By Dennis Cauchon and Richard Wolf, September 10, 2009, USA Today: “Household income fell sharply and poverty rates rose in 2008 as the severe effects of the recession took their toll on Americans’ finances, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Median household income dropped 3.6% to $50,303 in 2008, the bureau reported. That was the sharpest drop since at least 1967 and sent income to its lowest point since 1997…”
• U.S. poverty rate hit 11-year high in 2008, By Don Lee, September 10, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “Reporting from Washington - Showing the scars of the deep recession last year, the nation’s poverty level jumped to an 11-year high, household incomes sank and the number of people without health insurance rose slightly to 46.3 million, the government reported today. The Census Bureau said that median household incomes fell 3.6% from 2007 to $50,303 last year. That was the biggest decline since 1991 and represented millions of job cuts by employers in 2008…”
• Growth of gov’t insurance outpaces private care, By Hope Yen and Frank Bass (AP), September 10, 2009, Houston Chronicle: “The number of Americans covered by government-sponsored health insurance plans surged to 87.4 million last year - or 29 percent of the U.S. population - amid a fierce, national debate about whether to create a new U.S.-run plan that any American could join. The number of people covered by federal Medicaid, Medicare and military insurance plans was an increase from 83 million in 2007, according to census figures released Thursday. It partially offset the eighth straight year of declines in the percentage of people with employer-provided plans and highlighted the growing role of a government-offered insurance safety net…”
• Decade of income growth lost, Census report finds, By Carol Morello, September 10, 2009, Washington Post: “The recession has erased an entire decade of growth in household incomes, according to a Census Bureau report released Thursday that also showed more Americans last year were living in poverty and without health insurance. Median household incomes sank 3.6 percent in 2008, to $50,303, and the nation’s poverty rate rose to 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. In all, 39.8 million Americans were living in poverty, defined as $22,025 for a family of four. That was the highest number since 1960…”
• Recession takes heavy toll on U.S., By Conor Dougherty, September 10, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “The recession has slashed families’ earnings, increased poverty and left more people without health insurance, according to the Census Bureau’s annual snapshot of living standards, offering sharp evidence of how much the falling economy has touched Americans of every income and race. The report released Thursday showed median household income, adjusted for inflation, fell 3.6% last year to $50,303, the steepest year-over-year drop since at least 1967. The poverty rate, at 13.2%, was the highest since 1997, while about 700,000 more people were living without health insurance in 2008 than the year before, although the share of the population living without health insurance was about the same…”

• In New York City, poverty defined in new terms, By Pam Fessler, September 10, 2009, National Public Radio: “New census figures Thursday are expected to show that the poverty rate rose in 2008. But the government still measures poverty the same way it did more than 40 years ago, and many experts think that gives an inaccurate measure of what’s going on. New York City developed a new measure last year based on recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences that takes into account expenses such as child care and health care costs. The result, according to backers of the new formula, is a more realistic picture of today’s world. They’re pushing the federal government to make a similar change…”
• Another word for poverty, By Sarah Chacko, September 10, 2009, Baton Rouge Advocate: “In the coming weeks, the federal government will release 2008 data about family income and economic status. An obvious focus for many will be the poverty rate, the number of people who earn less than an established measure of income needed to cover a family’s basic needs. But in some circles, the word ‘poverty’ has become off limits. Nonprofit organizations and state agencies say they are ‘moving people to self-sufficiency’ or ‘empowering families,’ without mentioning economic status. Avoiding the word has apparently become an international trend too…”
• Move that line, By Dave Schechter, September 9, 2009, CNN.com: “On Thursday morning, the Census Bureau will release data expected to show a “statistically significant” increase in the national poverty rate, the percentage of Americans living below the government poverty line. Based on an Associated Press interview with a Commerce Department official, the expectation is that there will have been nearly 39 million Americans living below the poverty line in 2008 - an increase of more than 1.5 million from the year before - pushing the poverty rate up to at least 12.7 percent, if not higher. In reality, that number and that rate are something of a fraud. In the first decade of the 21st Century, the U.S. government still determines who is poor with a formula created in 1963-64 using data from 1955…”
• New figures on uninsured — but just how accurate are they?, By Kelly Brewington and Stephanie Desmon, Baltimore Sun: “The U.S. Census just released some surprising figures on the number of Americans without health insurance. The agency says the percentage of the uninsured did not grow between 2007 and 2008 — holding steady at 15.4 percent. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured people rose slightly 45.7 million to 46.3 million. During a monster recession, with rising unemployment and so many employers cutting health insurance to their workers — can those figures be right?…”

Nearly 1 in 5 older Americans believed to be in poverty _ almost double the official rate, By Hope Yen (AP), September 4, 2009, Grand Forks Herald: “The poverty rate among older Americans could be nearly twice as high as the traditional 10 percent level, according to a revision of a half-century-old formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations in the cost of living. The National Academy of Science’s formula, which is gaining credibility with public officials including some in the Obama administration, would put the poverty rate for Americans 65 and over at 18.6 percent, or 6.8 million people, compared with 9.7 percent, or 3.6 million people, under the existing measure. The original government formula, created in 1955, doesn’t take account of rising costs of medical care and other factors…”

Numbers of poor, uninsured projected to increase, Associated Press, August 19, 2009, New York Times: “The ranks of poor and uninsured Americans are likely increasing — with more than 38.8 million believed to be in poverty. Rebecca Blank, the Commerce Department’s undersecretary of economic affairs, spoke to The Associated Press in advance of next month’s closely watched release of 2008 census data. Noting the figures are not yet final, Blank said the numbers likely will show a “statistically significant” increase in the poverty rate, to at least 12.7 percent. That would represent a jump of more than 1.5 million poor people compared with the previous year. ‘There’s no question that 2008 economically was a much worse year than 2007,’ she said Wednesday. ‘The question is how much and how bad…’”

Poverty line fluctuates with conflicting data, By Priyadarshi Siddhanta, August 20, 2009, Indian Express: “The issue of poverty estimation seems to be getting more complicated as a government-sponsored panel has now said that about 38 per cent Indians are poor - 10 percentage points higher than a previous estimate. The states are already opposed to the Centre’s calculations on poverty estimation. In an interim finding, former chief of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council Suresh Tendulkar has estimated that 38 per cent of India’s population (comprising 8.32 crore families) is poor…”

‘Poverty threshold’ update sought, By Sarah Chacko, August 11, 2009, Baton Rouge Advocate: “Members of the U.S. Congress are seeking to update the federal ‘poverty threshold’ and measure figures that determine at what income level a household is considered poor. Backers say the change will more accurately define poverty in America and show that the current measure underestimates the problem. Opponents say the change is an attempt to raise support for wasteful spending on social services. The ‘poverty threshold’ - the line by which people’s incomes are measured to determine their economic status - is what the federal government uses to determine who receives how much in services…”

• Kids report shows data issues, By David Crary (AP), July 29, 2009, Knoxville New Sentinel: “Serious shortcomings in national data, including an outdated federal measure of household poverty, are undermining the task of identifying and assisting America’s most vulnerable children, according to a report issued Tuesday. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, in its annual Kids Count report on children’s health and well-being, says national efforts to track and analyze such trends ‘fall far short of what is possible, what is needed, and what is demanded’…”
• Granite State still first in children’s well-being, By Adam D. Krauss, July 29, 2009, Foster’s Daily Democrat: “The rankings are in, and once again the Granite State was deemed to be the best state for the well-being of children. But advocates aren’t resting on their state’s laurels…”
• Children faring worse in state, By Mike Averill, July 29, 2009, Tulsa World: “Oklahoma dropped to 44th nationally in child well-being, according to a national report that ranks states on 10 health indicators. The state ranked 43rd last year, 42nd in 2007 and 38th in 2003, according to the 2009 Kids Count Data Book, released annually by the Annie E. Casey Foundation…”
• Child poverty on the rise, By Martha Stoddard, July 29, 2009, Omaha World-Herald: “Iowa children are better off than those in Nebraska, according to a new national report. But the 2009 Kids Count Data Book shows growing numbers of children in both states living in poverty. The increases occurred even before the current recession hit last year…”
• More kids in state living in poverty, By Angela Mapes Turner, July 29, 2009, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette: “The ranks of Hoosier children living in poverty or with unemployed parents are growing, according to a state-by-state study on the well-being of America’s youth…”
• 24% of Alabama kids living in poverty, By Lydia Seabol Avant, July 29, 2009, Tuscaloosa News: “Almost a quarter of Alabama’s children live in poverty, according to a national Kids Count study released Tuesday. Alabama ranks 48th in the nation in the annual state-by-state analysis that examines the well-being of children. The study looks at 10 measures, including teen birth rate, child death rate, high school dropouts and the poverty rate…”
• Study: La. 49th in child welfare, By Sarah Chacko, July 29, 2009, Baton Rouge Advocate: “Despite improvements in key areas, including a decline in births to teenage mothers and high school dropouts, Louisiana again ranked second to last in a national study on child well-being released Tuesday. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2009 Kids Count data book ranks Louisiana 49th out of 50 states - a place Louisiana has held for at least the past decade…”
• State is 47th in well-being of its children, By Nancy Cole, July 29, 2009, Arkansas Democrat Gazette: “Arkansas lags behind all but three states, ranking 47th in children’s health, education and economic well-being, according to a report released Tuesday by a national child-advocacy group…”