Measuring Poverty
Poverty is an imperfect measure. The federal poverty level began as a hasty back-of-the envelope calculation of food costs in 1962 and has simply been adjusted for inflation ever since. The experimental supplemental poverty level does a bit better--adjusting for regional differences, accounting for the value of in-kind benefits (like food stamps), and including a broader range of expenses (including child care and health care). A more meaningful measure is provided by living wage or self-sufficiency thresholds [see Minimum Wage or Living Wage? sidebar].
For consideration of these various measures--and their alternatives--see Measuring Up: Aspirations for Economic Security in the 21st Century (Insight Center for Community Economic Development, 2013); David S. Johnson and Timothy M. Smeeding, A consumer's guide to interpreting various U.S. poverty measures, IRP Focus (2012). N. Hutto, J. Waldfogel, and I. Garfinkel, Improving the Measurement of Poverty. Social Service Review (2011). For poverty over time, see US Census Bureau, Historical Poverty Tables.
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