Poverty is the inability to purchase basic necessities such as food, clothes, and shelter. The official poverty line in the US seems to be pretty conservative considering the fact that costs of food have increased since the declaration of War on Poverty by President Johnson in 1964. This not only applies to food, but clothes and shelter as well. Based on this, the poverty line should be increased by 4 folds or even higher. Considering this, there would be a much larger population of destitute people.

According to the United States Census Bureau, “The official poverty rate in 2020 was 11.4 percent, up 1.0 percentage point from 10.5 percent in 2019.  This is the first increase in poverty after five consecutive annual declines” and in 2018 “the highest poverty rate by race is found among Native Americans (25.4%), with Blacks (20.8%) having the second highest poverty rate, and Hispanics (of any race) having the third highest poverty rate (17.6%). Whites had a poverty rate of 10.1%, while Asians had a poverty rate at 10.1%.”

Poverty USA claims that “The USDA estimated that 11.1% of US households were food insecure in 2018.  This means that approximately 14.3 million households had difficulty providing enough food for all their members due to a lack of resources.”

This issue matters because this imprecise poverty line strips away the opportunity for the poor to qualify for necessary federal and state assistance. In order for change to be made, light needs to be shed on this issue enough so that the government will take action. 

Sources:

• https://theconversation.com/poverty-in-2021-looks-different-than-in-1964-but-the-us-hasnt-changed-how-it-measures-whos-poor-since-lbj-began-his-war-163626 

• https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html 

• https://www.povertyusa.org/facts