General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 80% of the US Population is at or below the POVERTY line - WHY is this NOT a National Emergency??? [View all]haele
(12,652 posts)Average cost of living expenditure is an estimate of average taxes, average housing (single room per adult), average basic food, average transportation to/from work costs or food source, and average basic (energy/water) costs in a location. Near poverty is when this cost is equal to or within a set percentage of one's annual income.
Poverty is when one's potential annual income is below that cost of living. The federal poverty indicator is supposed to be the official mean at which CoL meets across the US. Unfortunatly, that mean isn't re-calculated very often, so the poverty indicator is probably far lower than it should be.
What usually isn't considered in is communication (cable, internet, phone), medicine, education, clothing, personal transportation (motor or pedal) or entertainment, because those costs aren't consistant over a wide population or necessary for survival. These costs are subjective cost of living estimates for particular groups of population.
To say that 4 out of 5 Americans are at or near poverty is a bit of an iffy stat to get one's head around, because at least 1.5 of that 4 out of 5 are probably around the median income in the US, but one paycheck away from homelessness because they are either are in a high cost of living area where the average cost of housing alone is at least 2/3 of median income, or are struggling with student loans or medical debt.
That's more subsidy programs now-a-days are starting to list 400% above the federal poverty indicator as the cut-off for support. That says a lot about the actual cost of living and CPI, that support is required for most americans who make the median income - or more - in this country to keep a minimum standard of living.
Haele