Wisconsin Poverty

New Wisconsin Poverty Measure

As a service to the State of Wisconsin, IRP prepared the first Wisconsin Poverty Report using the American Community Survey (ACS) database and updated data to March 2009 using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) files. IRP Director Tim Smeeding presented the report in May 2009 to the governor’s summit on fighting poverty. The report and its innovative use of SNAP data to forecast growing need was very well received and might well become a model for other states and localities that seek to measure the level, depth, and trend in poverty. The innovation to use either SNAP enrollments or unemployment rates to forecast changes in poverty beyond the time frame of the most current survey data is an idea now being applied on a national scale.  Further, use of administrative data matched to survey data may also help make methodological improvements in survey-based adjustments for program take-up and other estimates.

IRP researchers and programming staff are working with both administrative and survey data to analyze underreporting of government transfers, both cash and near cash, as well as the impacts of underreporting on various poverty measures (including measures using the ACS). As part of this project researchers also intend to extend poverty measurement such that it includes an analysis of the impacts of new poverty measures, like those proposed in the Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009, and the National Academy of Sciences methodology,[2] to measure poverty in Wisconsin and to provide advice to neighboring states and others on using the ACS for state poverty measurement.

Initially, IRP will undertake crafting such a measure for Wisconsin, suited to Wisconsin’s standard of living and policy priorities, and replicable by other states in the upper Midwest and in other areas of the nation where there is interest. On the needs side, IRP researchers would begin with the federal NAS thresholds, with adjustments to reflect current patterns of major expenditure within Wisconsin. Because the cost of renting decent, structurally safe housing with specific numbers of bedrooms varies by metropolitan and non metropolitan areas within Wisconsin, the new threshold might be set taking into consideration differences in housing costs, as well as additional adjustments for family size and composition.

For a better definition of resources, IRP researchers will adjust for state income taxes paid and the effects of the Wisconsin State Earned Income Tax Credit, in addition to estimating payments for federal taxes, Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, and the federal EITC. Because of the expansiveness of BadgerCare Plus, Wisconsin’s public health insurance program, the decision of whether or not to make additional adjustments for out-of-pocket medical expenses would have to be carefully examined.

The First Wisconsin Poverty Report

Julia B. Isaacs and Timothy M. Smeeding, April 2009
Full report available in PDF format | PowerPoint Presentation in PDF format

The Institute for Research on Poverty recently released the first-ever Wisconsin Poverty Report, which shows that one in seven Wisconsin children and 10.8% of the state’s population lived in poverty in 2007 (before the economic recession took hold). Presented at the statewide “Building Bridges to Family Economic Success” summit held May 4-5, 2009, in Milwaukee, the report finds that poverty in Wisconsin is rapidly growing with the recession, as reflected in increasing food assistance program enrollment.

IRP Director Tim Smeeding notes, “We see the Wisconsin Poverty Report as a key starting point for the state’s antipoverty plan. The report can be used to target areas of greatest need within our state and subsequent studies could be used to monitor the antipoverty effectiveness of programs and policies.”

Media Coverage

• Upcoming: Greg Stensland, News Director of WFDL Radio in Fond du Lac, discusses the Wisconsin Poverty Report’s finding of rising need for food assistance in the Fond du Lac area with IRP Director Tim Smeeding, May 8, 2009
• Wisconsin Public Radio Ideas Network—“At Issue” with Ben Merens, May 5, 2009
• The Badger Herald: Poverty increases as economy suffers, May 5, 2009
• Daily Cardinal: Report tracks poverty, growing need for food assistance in Wisconsin, May 5, 2009
• Poverty News Blog: Wisconsin poverty level increases to 12 percent, May 5, 2009
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: One in seven Wisconsin kids lives in poverty, report says, May 4, 2009
• UW News: Wisconsin Poverty Report gauges nature and extent of problem statewide, May 4, 2009
• WisPolitics.com: Press Release, May 4, 2009
• WISC-TV: Study Finds Increased Need For Food Assistance In Wisconsin, May 4, 2009
• WQOW 18 Eau Claire: Poverty Report: Recession Impact on Wisconsin Residents, May 4, 2009
• Yahoo! Buzz: One in seven Wisconsin kids lives in poverty, report says, May 4, 2009
• Wheeler Report: Press Release: May 4, 2009, Jobs & Economy, May 4, 2009

Wisconsin Antipoverty Summit:
“Building Bridges to Family Economic Success”

IRP Director Tim Smeeding accepted an invitation in January 2009 from Reggie Bicha, Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, to serve on the planning council for the May 4 and 5, 2009, antipoverty summit, “Building Bridges to Family Economic Success.”

The summit, initiated by Governor Doyle and led by the Department of Children and Families, brought together a diverse set of people and organizations concerned about poverty in the state, including the Institute for Research on Poverty, policymakers and agency executives, tribal representatives, service providers, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and advocates. Participants examined poverty and antipoverty policies and programs in Wisconsin and set an agenda to improve the well-being of children and families across the state.

IRP Affiliate Stimulus Commentaries:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("Stimulus Bill")

The “Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity” Web site features a special series of commentaries written by IRP affiliates that examines how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act affects low-income Americans.

The commentaries draw from an IRP seminar held on March 5, 2009, in response to the need to know how the stimulus bill provisions change the social policy playing field. IRP Director Timothy Smeeding opened the series with the piece “First Steps toward a Strong Antipoverty Policy: New Attention to a Growing Problem.” Professor Daniel R. Meyer continued the series with an analysis of the bill’s tax and transfer programs and how they will affect those in need. Professor Andrew Reschovsky then added an examination of whether the stimulus bill will protect public education from spending cuts from the perspective of Wisconsin. Professor Pamela Herd provided an installment that examines stimulus spending on health. Professor Sara Goldrick-Rab’s installment will consider President Obama’s education policy and suggest that a greater emphasis on community colleges to improve educational attainment in the U.S.

In the spirit of the Wisconsin Idea, Institute for Research on Poverty researchers have been collaborating with policymakers and practitioners at the local, state, and national levels to tackle some of the toughest social problems since the Institute’s founding in 1966.