Re:Food, housing, & health care costs are a source of major ...
by marcusverus on Friday August 08, 2025 @12:04PM
(#44838586)
> 40 million Americans live below the poverty line of $15,000 per year.
Not even close. Census income data is not an accurate measure of poverty, as it excludes all in-kind redistributions (food stamps, HUD, medicaid, head start, etc) AND excludes cash programs like the "refundable tax credits". A more accurate line would be "40 million people would be living in poverty if we weren't already spending >1 Trillion dollars per year on food stamps, HUD, medicaid, and other programs."
Not even close. Census income data is not an accurate measure of poverty, as it excludes all in-kind redistributions (food stamps, HUD, medicaid, head start, etc) AND excludes cash programs like the "refundable tax credits". A more accurate line would be "40 million people would be living in poverty if we weren't already spending >1 Trillion dollars per year on food stamps, HUD, medicaid, and other programs."