This document discusses poverty in America. It provides statistics showing that in 2019, 10.9% of Americans, or 34 million people, lived below the poverty line. Certain groups, such as Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, children, women and disabled individuals face higher rates of poverty. Theories on the causes of poverty include the culture of poverty perspective and generational poverty. Approaches to combat poverty have included curative, alleviative and preventative methods such as public assistance programs and social insurance.

1. Chapter 5. Poverty in America

2. Learning Objectives
 Poverty statistics
 Why poverty affects different demographics in the US
 Historical approaches to combat poverty
 How quasi-financial and financial institutions in the US are
increasing the financial burden on the poor

3. Who is Poor?
 Talkpoverty.org
2019 - 10.9% of the U.S. population fell below poverty line
 (14.8% - 2014)
 10.9% = 34 million people
 Poverty line is the minimum level of resources that are adequate
to meet basic needs

4. Who is Poor?
Poverty Threshold – “Poverty line”
Used for statistical purposes
Includes only cash income (wages, SS, public assistance, interest from
accounts… income before taxes)
Does not account for in-kind benefits (medical care, food stamps, school lunches,
public housing)
Does not account cost-of-living, expenses of the family, health issues, childcare
costs, current cost of housing

5. Who is Poor?
Poverty Guidelines–
Used to determine who qualifies for certain federally supported public
assistance programs
Released by DHHS
Same for the 48 contiguous states; higher for Alaska and Hawaii

6. Who is Poor?
Supplemental Poverty Measure –
Considers new factors in modern expenses like high cost of medical
care, child care, housing, utilities, and in-kind benefits
Adjusts for geographical locations
Would increase the number of those determined to be poor in the U.S.

7. Who is Poor? (2019)
 Total U.S. population in 2019: 328.2 million
 Talkpoverty.org
 Native Americans: 23.0% (600K)
 Black/AA: 18.8% (8.1 million)
 Hispanics: 15.7% (9.5 million)
 White: 7.3% (14.2 million)
 Children: 14.4% (10.5 million)
 Women: 11.5% (19 million)
 Disabled: 22.5% (3.3 million)

8. Who is
Poor?
(2019) –
By age
& gender

9. Who is Poor?
 By State (2019)
 Go to Census.gov
for a clickable
image

10. Who is Poor? (2017) – Education
25.9
12.7
8.4
4.4
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
NO HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA
HIGH SCHOOL, NO COLLEGE
SOME COLLEGE
BACHELOR, MASTERS, PHD
Census.gov
Percentage of Population

11. Families & Poverty
 Household headed by a single woman were poorest
Children from single mother HH were:
More likely to have learning disability and ADHD
2x as likely to miss school for lengthy periods due to
injury or illness
Need ER care more often and have unmet dental needs

12. 0
10
20
30
40
50
30.2
38.8 40.8
29.9
42.6 41.5
Poverty Rates for Single Mothers Families with
Children, 2016
Data from National Women Law Center & U.S. Census

13. Child Support Enforcement
Title IV of Social Security Act amended to include Part D - Provide
Federal matching funds for CS collection and establishing
paternity
Rationale: putting pressure for parents to support their kids
would lead to less families on public assistance
State agencies keep a portion of the CS collected to offset cost of
the family’s public assistance

14. Child Support Enforcement
PRWORA toughen CSE laws:
Order genetic testing without a court order
Garnish wages
Lead investigations to track down the non-paying parent

15. The Working Poor
“Working Poor” - Individuals who are in the workforce full time
or part time but who are still at or below the poverty line
7 million of the workforce in 2018 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Underemployed – those who have skills far exceed those required by the
position or are working part-time when they wish to be employed full-
time

16. Wages and Poverty
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 – increased federal minimum
wage to its current state of $7.25 (2009)
$13,920 a year
Social Wage – value gained by using welfare benefits to
supplement income
Life at $7.25 an hour (video)

17. Wages and Poverty
Living Wage Movement – local level attempts to raise minimum
wage to a wage that allows worker to afford a living without the
need for a social wage
Living Wage in Dallas County (Video)

18. Theories of Poverty
 Culture of Poverty - Poverty and poverty traits are transferred
through generations in perpetuity
Regardless of geographical location – show similarity in family
structure, interpersonal relations, time orientation, value system and
patterns of spending
The poor possess their own set of values that are passed through
generations - “Generational Poverty”

19. Theories of Poverty
 Culture of Poverty
Present day criticism – values of COP have spread to the
middle class: high divorce rates, single motherhood,
cohabitation vs. marriage and acceptable sexual behavior
Also, are the poor are poor because of their doing or
because of systemic racism and other issues

20. Theories of Poverty
 Generational Poverty
At least two generations
Can surface sooner than two generations if living with others in
generational poverty
Realities of Gen Poverty include: periods of homelessness, crowded
housing, incarceration, welfare services, violence,
addiction/substance abuse, food insecurity

21. Approaches to Combat Poverty
Curative Approach – ends poverty by helping poor become self-
supporting through changes in personal lives and in their environment
Alleviative Approach – public assistance programs created to
alleviate the suffering of the poor instead of attacking the causes of
poverty
Preventative Approach – requires the poor to use social insurance
programs to insure against the costs of accidents, sickness, death, old
age, unemployment and disability