1. What groups of Americans are affected by poverty?

2. Poverty
A standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by society.
Poverty is relative, it depends on the standard of living in your country.

3. Poverty in the United States
The U.S. Bureau of the Census defines poverty in terms of the minimum annual income needed by a family to survive. This minimum income is called the poverty line.

4. Calculating the poverty level
Cost of an adequate diet (based on U.S. Department of Agriculture’s standards) multiplied by 3.
Is adjusted each year for cost of living.
Is calculated differently for different sized families.

5. Persons in family/household
2012 Poverty Guidelines for the48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia
Persons in family/household
Poverty guideline 1
$11,170 2
15,130 3
19,090 4
23,050 5
27,010 6
30,970 7
34,930 8
38,890
For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $3,960 for each additional person.

6. American Poverty
Some people are more likely to be poor than others, why?

7. Age
Children represent the largest percentage of people living in poverty.
African American and Hispanic American children are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than white children.

8. Child poverty
What trends do you notice in this map?

9. Sex About 57% of the poor are women.
Women are the head of the household in nearly half of all poor families.

10. Race and Ethnicity
Regardless of age or sex, African Americans and Hispanics in the U.S. are more likely to live in poverty than whites.
For example, according to the 2000 census: of the total population, 13% of Americans lived below the poverty level. That same census found that 11% of whites, 26.5 % of African Americans, and 27.1 % of Hispanic Americans lived below the poverty level.

11. How Poverty effects lives
Life chances and patterns of behavior

12. Life Chances
The likelihood that individuals have of sharing the opportunities and benefits of society.
Life chances include: health, length of life, housing, and education.
These vary by social class.

13. Life Expectancy
Is the average number of years a person born in a particular year can expect to live.
Poor Americans are more likely to have poor health and a shorter life expectancy.
Reasons:
less money for food = poor nutrition
Less money = problems with health insurance

14. Patterns of Behavior High divorce rate among poor.
Poor are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and sent to prison.
The poor are also more likely to be the victims of crimes.

15. The Government’s role in fighting poverty
The “War on Poverty”

16. Government’s role Started with President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Example, people aged 65+ are less likely than the average American to live in poverty.

17. Social Welfare Programs
Transfer payments
Government subsidies
Redistributes money among various segments of society.
Tax money given to:
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Transfer of goods and services instead of cash.
Includes:
Food stamps
Medicaid
School lunches
Housing

18. Welfare Reform
1996- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.
Turned some of the handling of the programs over to the states.
People could now only receive TANF for up to 5 years.
TANF recipients now had to work within 2 years.