Poverty Guidelines
2009-2010 HHS Poverty Guidelines by size of family unit, for all states (except Alaska and Hawaii) and for the District of Columbia. (For family units with more than 8 members, see the data source.)
| 100 % of Poverty | 110 % of Poverty | 125 % of Poverty | 150 % of Poverty | 175 % of Poverty | 185 % of Poverty | 200 % of Poverty | |
| 1 | $10,830.00 | $11,913.00 | $13,538.00 | $16,245.00 | $18,953.00 | $20,036.00 | $21,660.00 |
| 2 | $14,570.00 | $16,027.00 | $18,213.00 | $21,855.00 | $25,498.00 | $23,955.00 | $29,141.00 |
| 3 | $18,310.00 | $20,141.00 | $22,888.00 | $27,465.00 | $32,043.00 | $33,874.00 | $36,620.00 |
| 4 | $22,050.00 | $24,255.00 | $27,563.00 | $33,075.00 | $28,588.00 | $40,793.00 | $44,100.00 |
| 5 | $25,790.00 | $28,369.00 | $32,238.00 | $38,685.00 | $45,133.00 | $47,712.00 | $51,580.00 |
| 6 | $29,530.00 | $32,483.00 | $36,913.00 | $44,295.00 | $51,678.00 | $54,631.00 | $59,060.00 |
| 7 | $33,270.00 | $36,597.00 | $41,588.00 | $49,905.00 | $58,223.00 | $61,550.00 | $66,540.00 |
| 8 | $37,010.00 | $40,711.00 | $46,263.00 | $55,515.00 | $64,768.00 | $68,469.00 | $74,020.00 |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (http://liheap.ncat.org/profiles/povertytables/FY2010/popstate.htm)
Poverty Status
Defining Poverty - How the Government Defines Poverty
The U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold, then that family and every individual in it is considered in poverty. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using Consumer Price Index, the most widely accepted index of inflation. The Consumer Price Index is generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to measure average changes in the prices of goods and services consumed by a typical family.
The official poverty definition refers to money income before taxes and does not include capital gains or non-cash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). Because the primary function of the poverty thresholds, as a statistical yardstick, is to classify only the neediest sectors of the population, they are a modest measure of need and do not adequately indicate the total need for assistance.
Poverty Level
Each year, the federal government calculates the minimum amount of money required by families to meet these basic needs. The resulting calculation is what is commonly referred to as the "poverty line."
Poverty is a Complicated Topic
Poverty is an exceptionally complicated social phenomenon, and trying to discover its causes is equally complicated. The stereotypic (and simplistic) explanation persists--that the poor cause their own poverty--based on the notion that anything is possible in America. Some have accused the poor of having little concern for the future and preferring to "live for the moment"; others have accused them of engaging in self-defeating behavior. Still other theorists have characterized the poor as fatalists, resigning themselves to a culture of poverty in which nothing can be done to change their economic outcomes. In this culture of poverty--which passes from generation to generation--the poor feel negative, inferior, passive, hopeless, and powerless.
Overcoming Stereotypes
The "blame the poor" perspective is stereotypic and not applicable to all of the underclass. Not only are most poor people able and willing to work hard, they do so when given the chance. The real trouble has to do with such problems as minimum wages and lack of access to the education necessary for obtaining a better-paying job.
For More Information :
About the Causes of Poverty - CliffsNotes.com. Causes and Effects of Poverty. 5 Oct 2009 - http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26882.html
About What it Would take to Significantly Reduce Poverty - Poverty Reduction Initiative - http://www.haltpoverty.org/Reducing_Poverty/