This article relates to the Pauvreté with the the United States .
There are significant dissensions on the phenomenon of poverty in the United States, particularly on the definition even of poverty. By using different definitions, two groups are opposed:
-
the first supports that poverty was eliminated during last century.
- the second affirms that there is such a rise of poverty currently that it would be necessary to put much more means.
The essence of the debate rests on:
- statistical measurements of poverty,
- points of view different between partisans and adversaries from the social supplementary programmes.
Measure poverty in the United States
Official statistic
There are two different measurements:- relative thresholds (curve of the incidence of poverty)
- absolute thresholds (defined by the department of health and the government aid)
The Census Bureau publishes the poverty lines, according to various criteria: for example, of the national estimates on the poverty, classified according to the type of housing, the ethnic origin, and other characteristics demographic and socio-economic.
The department of health and the government aid publishes its thresholds with an administrative aim, for example to determine if a person where a family is likely to receive a government aid of a federal program.
Since the years 1960, the government of the United States defined poverty in absolute term. The absolute poverty line corresponds to the threshold in lower part of which the people “miss resources to satisfy the fundamental needs for a correct life and enough incomes do not have to nourish itself sufficiently and to have a housing and clothing making it possible to remain in good health”.
The thresholds are updated annually, according to inflation.
Current thresholds (absolute measurement)
Poverty lines in 2007
Measure incidence of poverty (relative measurement)
Another way of measuring poverty is in relative terms . The " poverty relative" is defined like to have much less access to an income and the wellbeing that the other people . In 1999, the income of a family under the poverty line was of 17 020 $. That represented 28,49 % of the median wages. In 1959, it was 42,64 %. One can deduce from it that a family in 1999 has, in a relative way, less money, that a poor family of 1959.
The official rate of poverty in the United States with advanced since the year 2000, its low level with 11,3 % in 2000, with 12,7 % in 2004 and 12,3 % in 2006. That means that 37 million people was in lower part of the official poverty line in 2004. They is 5,4 million more than in 2000. The poor rate of minors, increased 16,2 to him; % with 17,8 % during the same time.
In 2006, one counts 36,5 million people living under the poverty line, the increase in the Démographie passer by of 281,4 million in 2000 to 300 million in 2006 explaining that in spite of the rate in fall, the number of people varies little.
In 2006,4,9% of the married couples are poor, that is to say 2,9 million people, against 28,3 % (4,1 million) for the women living only or the families without the father.
Duration of poverty
The probability so that poor is still in poverty at the end of one year locates between 13 and 33 % according to the definitions of poverty used. At the end of 24 months, the probability so that poor left poverty exceeds the 80 %, whatever the definition used.A study carried out by Michael Cox, economic council of the EDF of Dallas, and Richard Alm, journalist economic in Dallas Morning News, confirmed these statistics: while studying to become it of 50.000 poor families between 1975 and 1991, they concluded that only one fifth of the families of the Quintile of the poorest population was still in this quintile 16 years later. 75% of these initially poor families had passed in one of the three richest quintiles. A study different from the American Treasury also concluded that, of the members of the quintile lowest in 1979,85,8% had moved in a richer quintile while, among the 1% of the population which gained more into 1979,52,7% were not any more in this category in 1988.
Some statistics on the inheritance of the poor in the United States
The primary source of polemic on the calculation of the relative poverty line comes owing to the fact that it is relative for a country and relative according to the median income of this country. As illustration, according to the statistics of 1995 on the people living under the “ threshold of pauvreté ” in the United States:-
46% of those which are regarded as the poor is owners of a house;
- 76% has the air conditioning;
- 75% of them profits from at least two rooms to live;
- the poor “means” American is placed better than the average of the individuals living Paris, London, Vienna or Athens;
- 97% of the poor has a television color; 50% have two of them;
- 75% of them has a car, 30% have two of them;
- 73% of the poor has a microwawe oven.
The poor family American traditional (as besides their European equivalent) is single-parent, with a mother (very) young and an infant.
Food safety
89% of the American home did not test any problem to be nourished correctly throughout the year 2002. The 11% remainders had difficulties, at least temporarily. On a these 11% third (3,5%) of the hearths had difficulties so much so that at least one of the family member the hunger felt, at one moment given, during the year 2002.
Causes
There are many explanations about the causes allowing the existence of people living under the poverty line the the United States, some being more specific to this country, others non :- Drug
- lack of Schooling
- the Immigration, person in charge of about half of the increase of the American population, does not cease renewing the poor population, dissimulating the falls of poverty.
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