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Home / Press Room / 2007 Headlines |
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September 14, 2007
Federal Formula Understates Poverty (Letter to the Editor)
Published September 14, 2007 in the Philadelphia Inquirer
The recent Census Bureau report showed a decline in the U.S. poverty rate. That, along with a big drop in the number of welfare recipients reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare - to levels last seen in the 1960s - should be great news.
The reality is in sharp contrast. Across the Philadelphia region, more people are seeking food aid.
The Census Bureau did point out that Philadelphia's poverty rate is nearly double the national rate, with 25.1 percent of city residents in poverty last year, up from 24.5 percent in 2005. These sobering numbers hide grimmer realities.
The Federal Poverty Level, or FPL is based on a budget formula devised decades ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which established the minimum amount of food necessary, with all other expenses set at twice the cost of food. The FPL adjusts for inflation, but the formula has not changed since 1965, even though today all other expenses make up four times the amount needed for food.
Even the federal government recognizes that the FPL understates the real need: It allows a family to qualify for food stamps even if its income is 30 percent over the FPL. But we are seeing growing need even among families at as much as twice the poverty level. These working poor make too much to qualify for food stamps, but too little to be self-sufficient.
We applaud those who are struggling to leave welfare. Let's support them by changing the way we measure poverty thresholds and allocating adequate funds for their most basic necessity, food.
Bill Clark
President and Executive Director
Philabundance |
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