A look poverty thresholds in the USA

The mission of Syracuse Habitat for Humanity is to work in partnership with God and people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people by building homes, so that there are decent houses in our communities in which people can live and grow into all that God intended. We create partnerships within the community by crossing racial, cultural, political and economic barriers. We are so grateful to all our donors and volunteers who have selflessly donated their time, money and materials to Syracuse Habitat for Humanity. All our supporters have helped us achieve our mission, and we could not live up to our mission without you!

Below is an article that will give you quick background on how we measure poverty in the United States and how Syracuse Habitat for Humanity is actively working to combat poverty in our neighborhoods. Please remember, you never need to swing a hammer, pound a nail or climb a ladder to help Syracuse Habitat for Humanity. Being an advocate for change and inspiring others to take action will help us achieve our mission. Also, please remember our ReStore and if you have any home improvement projects please consider donating your surplus materials. For more information, please view our ReStore website at www.syracuserestore.org.

What are poverty thresholds?

One current way we measure poverty is through poverty thresholds that were established in the 1960s by Mollie Orshansky. The poverty thresholds are adjusted each year using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). According to federal guidelines, the poverty level in 2009 was $22,050 for a family of four and $18,310 for a family of three (Please see table below for more thresholds).

Orshansky developed the poverty thresholds that we use today. The thresholds were based on the “thrifty food plan.” This was a food plan by the Department of Agriculture designed for emergency and temporary assistance to families. During the 1960s, families were estimated to spend about one-third of their after-tax income on food. Orshansky then multiplied the food plan by three, arriving at the minimum income for a family. Orshanksy then calculated accordingly for number of family members. In 1963, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $3,100.

Poverty is not measured through material hardship, debt and does not consider financial assets. Living in substandard housing, owning property and savings therefore does not necessarily mean a family is in poverty. Also, poverty measures do not take into account geographic differences. The thresholds below are the same in any city across the country.

The way the government calculates poverty thresholds has remained unchanged except for the adjustments based on inflation. For years analysts have argued that the way we measure poverty is outdated and inaccurate. Today, food costs only compromise one-seventh of an averages families expenses and expenses such as housing, child care, health care, transportation and related expenses have increased dramatically. Finding consensus on what constitutes a basic families need has always been and will always be a contentious issue; some analysts argue that in order for families to meet their most basic resource demands, an income double the current poverty level is needed.

A quick search on the web will yield hundreds of thousands of sites on poverty. There are a lot of great resources, whether you are interested in poverty at the local, state, federal or international level. There are a lot of great resources and thousands of great organizations working to fight poverty – and remember that poverty is not solely about income levels and you should think of poverty more holistically. Poverty can be viewed as an all inclusive term for a lack of resources due to income restraints – the inability to access education, food, shelter, mental and physical health, welfare programs and related challenges, etc – all encompass poverty. You will find millions of resources branching across numerous fields and can easily find poverty issues that interest you.

In 1976, Habitat for Humanity was founded by Millard Fuller and his wife, Linda. From the onset, Habitats mission has been to work to eradicate poverty and substandard housing in our community.  Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has build over 350,000 houses around the world and provided safe, decent and affordable shelter to 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities. In the last 25 years, Syracuse Habitat for Humanity has built or renovated over 56 homes, working to eradicate poverty and provide safe and affordable housing to everyone in our community.