DRAWING THE POVERTY LINE

IN THE REAL WORLD

Johann Wagener 10-24-13

There are families in the US with incomes over $60,000 a year that are just above the poverty line because every dollar they have goes to meeting their “basic needs.”

The nay sayers will retort and rant about how the statistics lie and were mad up by a bunch of losers looking for a handout. To them I say; before jumping on the soap box and throwing out those “boot strap” and “freeloaders” one liners why don’t they hit the bricks and go out and talk to families (in this case) who live in the “big apple” (NYC) and can just get by on $66,000.00 a year.

The response I get is; why don’t they just move someplace else?  Well, that’s probably not a bad idea. But where? Maybe Mexico? Or China?

Across the country, families typically need an income of at least twice the official poverty level ($42,400 for a family of four) to meet basic needs. In high-cost cities such as New York, it may take an income of over three times the poverty level to make ends meet, whereas in some rural areas, the figure may be under double the poverty level.