Explanations of Poverty

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• The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the
  minimum level of income deemed necessary to
  achieve an adequate standard of living in a given
  country.

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Poverty Myths
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If poor people would get jobs, they could get out
of poverty.
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Reality

• 41 of those designated poor already work.
  This number of working poor has increased in
  recent years.
• 12 of the poor work year-round and in fulltime
  positions.
• (U.S. Census Bureau 2002a)

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Government programs can adequately provide for
the poor.
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Reality

• 75 of poor receive no food stamps
• 80 get no housing assistance
• Less than 50 receive Medicaid
• (U.S. Census Bureau 2001)

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A single working woman is just as able to provide
for her child as a single working man with the
same profession.
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Reality

• Wages in the United States are determined by the
  family wage system, a wage structure based on
  the assumption that men are the breadwinners in
  families.

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Once someone goes on welfare, it creates a cycle
of dependency and becomes a way of life.
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Reality

• Most people on welfare remain on welfare for a
  relatively short period, and usually following a
  crisis (unemployment, medical problem/
  disabilities, domestic violence, death of a
  spouse).
• Welfare cycling is the most common pattern
  people returning to welfare when jobs cannot
  sustain them.
• Persistent poverty, esp. among children,
  increases when federal programs are cut back.