Document A (Economic Equality)

Document B (Economic Equality)

The Population of PovertyIn 2018, 38.1 million people lived in Poverty USA. That means the poverty rate for 2018 was 11.8%. 

Who lives in Poverty USA?

All those who make less than the Federal government’s official poverty threshold... which for a family of four is about $25,700. People working at minimum wage, even holding down multiple jobs. Seniors living on fixed incomes. Wage earners suddenly out of work. Millions of families everywhere from our cities to rural communities.

Poverty does not strike all demographics equally. For example, in 2018, 10.6% of men, and 12.9% of women lived in Poverty USA. Along the same lines, the poverty rate for married couples in 2018 was only 4.7% - but the poverty rate for single-parent families with no wife present was 12.7%, and for single-parent families with no husband present was 24.9%.

In 2018, the poverty rate for people living with a disability was 25.7%. That’s nearly 4 million people living with a disability—in poverty.

Poverty by Age

Children in Poverty

In 2018, 16.2% of all children (11.9 million kids) lived in Poverty USA—that’s almost 1 in every 6 children.

In 2015, the National Center on Family Homelessness analyzed state-level data and found that nationwide, 2.5 million children experience homelessness in a year.

   

Seniors in Poverty

Though the official census data gives seniors a 2018 poverty rate of only 9.7%, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for expenses such as the rising costs of health care, raises the senior poverty rate to 14.1%.

 

Poverty by Ethnicity

According to 2018 US Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Native Americans (25.4%), with Blacks (20.8%) having the second highest poverty rate, and Hispanics (of any race) having the third highest poverty rate (17.6%). Whites had a poverty rate of 10.1%, while Asians had a poverty rate at 10.1%.

The Economics of Poverty

Poverty thresholds are determined by the US government, and vary according to the size of a family, and the ages of its members. In 2018, the poverty threshold—also known as the poverty line—for an individual was $12,784. For two people, the weighted average threshold was $16,247.

Poverty Thresholds

Three people

$19,985

Four people

$25,701

Five people

$30,459

Six people

$34,533

Seven people

$39,194

Eight people

$43,602

Nine or more people

$51,393

For more details about poverty thresholds, visit the US Census Bureau. Poverty thresholds are intended for use as a statistical yardstick, not a complete description of what people and/or families actually need to live.

What’s worse, 5.3% of the population—or 17.3 million people—live in deep poverty, with incomes below 50% of their poverty thresholds.

And 29.9% of the population—or 93.6 million—live close to poverty, with incomes less than two times that of their poverty thresholds. To learn more about poverty thresholds and what it is like to live at the poverty line, take a look at the statistics.

Sources: How the US Census Measures Poverty, US Census Bureau; Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2019, US Census Bureau (p. 18-19).

Employment

Following 3 consecutive years of annual increases, the 2018 median household income of $63,179 was not significantly different than the 2017 median. However, the real median income for family households increased by 1.2% and for nonfamily households by 2.4%. In 2018, the median income for family households was $80,663, while the median income for nonfamily households was $38,122.

Regarding the people who earned income in 2018, an estimated 76.8% of men and 63.9% of women worked full time, year-round. This combines for a 2% increase from the previous year and continues a shift from part time to full time work status. However, in 2018, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were only 81.6% of that for men working full time, year-round.

Source: US Census Bureau; Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019

Food Insecurity

The USDA estimated that 11.1% of US households were food insecure in 2018.  This means that approximately 14.3 million households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources. Rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average for households with incomes near or below the Federal poverty line.

There are programs that help.

56% of food-insecure households in the USDA survey reported that in the previous month, they had participated in one or more of the three largest Federal food and nutrition assistance programs. One of these programs is known as SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Program. Learn more about policies that help.

Document C (Economic Equality)

Struggling Single Mom Of 2 Rents San Mateo Garage For $1,000 A MonthMarch 5, 2015 at 6:41 pmFiled Under:Cost of Living, Garage, Homeless, Homelessness, Housing, Mom, Mother, Real Estate, Rent, San

Mateo, San Mateo County, Silicon ValleyCNN)

SAN MATEO (CBS SF) — One mother in San Mateo says rent is so expensive in her city all she can afford is a garage.Nicole Jones was pregnant with her now 18-month-

old daughter when she lost her job and her apartment.Jones, who gave birth to her second child three weeks ago, now pays $1,000 a month to live in the 250-square-foot space, which includes a bathroom with a stand-up shower.“This is pretty much all I could get,” she told CNN. Before the converted garage, she was living in a homeless shelter.“I didn’t know much about homelessness before,” Jones said.“Honestly, I always thought homeless people were panhandlers or people on the street that were hungry and cold and drug addicts and alcoholics — who didn’t want to do anything for themselves. I work and make decent money when I’m working. I think part of the reason why I became homeless is because finding work and daycare and transportation and everything just combined made it impossible for me to keep a roof over our head.”

In an interview with KPIX 5, Jones said she has received plenty of attention and nasty emails about her way of dealing with the

lack of affordable housing after the CNN story aired.“I like it here. For people that don’t like it, count yourselves lucky that you’re not in this garage with me. I think that it’s a home,” Jones told KPIX 5.

Nicole Jones of San Mateo cares for her two young children in this converted garage. (CBS)

The bartender said she makes good money, but not enough for a bigger place in a market with a lot of competition.“I had done a lot of searching, probably spent over $750 doing application fees trying to get into an apartment. Nobody wanted to rent to me, so this was a last resort, but a good resort,” Jones said.She said the rent money is also keeping a roof over the homeowner’s head, by keeping the mortgage paid.“I don’t expect a handout. I don’t expect a pity party. I’m proud of my situation. It’s not ideal, but it’s not something I’m ashamed of,” Jones said.Jones said the real credit in this situation goes to the women’s shelter that kept her and her daughter off the streets until they found that garage.Rents in San Mateo have skyrocketed like the rest of the Bay Area. The median rent price is $2,900 a month.

Document D (Economic Equality)

One chart that shows how much worse income inequality is in America than EuropeThe income share of the poorest half of Americans is declining while the richest have grabbed more. In Europe, it’s not happening.

By Emily Stewart emily.stewart@vox.com   Jul 29, 2018, 11:43am

Income inequality is a growing problem in the United States. The richest Americans have reaped a disproportional amount of economic growth while worker wages have failed to keep pace. And the $1.5-trillion Republican-passed tax cuts from December stand to make the situation worse.One chart from the 2018 World Inequality Report highlights the unique nature of income inequality in the US compared to other developed regions — namely, Western Europe. And the contrast is stark.From 1980 to 2016, the poorest half of the US population has seen its share of income steadily decline, and the top 1 percent have grabbed more. In Europe, the same trend can’t be observed.In 1980, the top 1 percent’s share of income was about 10 percent in both Western Europe and the US, but since then, the two have severely diverged. In 2016, the top 1 percent in Western Europe had about a 12-percent share of

income, compared to 20 percent in the United States. And in the US, the bottom 50 percent’s income share fell from more than 20 percent in 1980 to 13 percent in 2016.The economists behind the report — Facundo Alvaredo, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, and Gabriel Zucman — lay out an explanation of what’s happening:The income-inequality trajectory observed in the United States is largely due to massive educational inequalities, combined with a tax system that grew less progressive despite a surge in top labor compensation since the 1980s, and in top capital incomes in the 2000s. Continental Europe meanwhile saw a lesser decline in its tax progressivity, while wage inequality was also moderated by educational and wage-setting policies that were relatively more favorable to low and middle-income groups. In both regions, income inequality between men and women has declined but remains particularly strong at the top of the distribution.The 2018 World Inequality Report was released in December 2017.To be sure, wealth inequality is a global problem, and ranked among all nations, the United States does better than dozens of countries. But the visualization of how much the switch has flipped on the richest and poorest Americans over the past two decades is stunning.

Document E (Economic Equality)

Document F (Economic Equality)