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Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
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Figures on US poverty and elderly out of date
Source: Agencies |
September 5, 2009, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE official poverty rate for Americans 65 years and older has stood for years at 10 percent, the lowest rate among age groups.
But the true rate could be nearly twice that high, according to a revised formula by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington that is gaining favor among public officials, including some in the Obama administration.
The NAS formula would put the poverty rate for older Americans at 18.6 percent, or 6.8 million people, compared with 9.7 percent, or 3.6 million people, under the existing measure. The original government formula, created in 1955, doesn't take account of rising costs of medical care and other factors.
"It's a hidden problem," said Robin Talbert, president of the AARP Foundation, which provides job training and support to low-income seniors and is backing legislation that would adopt the NAS formula.
"There are still many millions of older people on the edge, who don't have what they need to get by."
If the academy's formula is adopted, a more refined picture of US poverty could emerge that would capture everyday costs of necessities besides just food.
The result could upend long-standing notions of those in greatest need and lead eventually to shifts in how billions of federal dollars for the poor are distributed for health, housing, nutrition and child-care benefits.
The overall official poverty rate would increase, from 12.5 percent to 15.3 percent, for a total of 45.7 million people, according to rough calculations by the Census Bureau. Data on all segments would be affected.
The changes have been discussed quietly for years in academic circles, and both Democrats and Republicans agree that the White House formula is outdated.
The current calculation sets the poverty level at three times the annual cost of groceries. For a family of four that is US$21,203.
That does not factor in rising medical, transportation, child care and housing expenses or geographical variations in living costs.
Next week, the Census Bureau will publish official poverty figures for 2008 with a cautionary note about the shortcomings.
But the true rate could be nearly twice that high, according to a revised formula by the National Academy of Sciences in Washington that is gaining favor among public officials, including some in the Obama administration.
The NAS formula would put the poverty rate for older Americans at 18.6 percent, or 6.8 million people, compared with 9.7 percent, or 3.6 million people, under the existing measure. The original government formula, created in 1955, doesn't take account of rising costs of medical care and other factors.
"It's a hidden problem," said Robin Talbert, president of the AARP Foundation, which provides job training and support to low-income seniors and is backing legislation that would adopt the NAS formula.
"There are still many millions of older people on the edge, who don't have what they need to get by."
If the academy's formula is adopted, a more refined picture of US poverty could emerge that would capture everyday costs of necessities besides just food.
The result could upend long-standing notions of those in greatest need and lead eventually to shifts in how billions of federal dollars for the poor are distributed for health, housing, nutrition and child-care benefits.
The overall official poverty rate would increase, from 12.5 percent to 15.3 percent, for a total of 45.7 million people, according to rough calculations by the Census Bureau. Data on all segments would be affected.
The changes have been discussed quietly for years in academic circles, and both Democrats and Republicans agree that the White House formula is outdated.
The current calculation sets the poverty level at three times the annual cost of groceries. For a family of four that is US$21,203.
That does not factor in rising medical, transportation, child care and housing expenses or geographical variations in living costs.
Next week, the Census Bureau will publish official poverty figures for 2008 with a cautionary note about the shortcomings.
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