Poverty and Income Distribution

• According to the government, a poor family is one whose total income is less than the amount required to satisfy the family's minimum needs.

• The Office of Management and Budget determines the income level known as the poverty line/threshold.

• The poverty threshold is the income level below which income is insufficient to support a family or household.

​Poverty line/threshold

• The poverty line varies with size of the family

• Ranked 50th in economy

• Ranked 46th in education

• Ranked 48th in opportunity

• Overall ranked 50th

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/louisiana

• ​Ranked 4th in Economy

• Ranked 19th in Education

• Ranked 1st in Opportunity

• Overall ranked 6th

  https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings

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The opportunity in different states can vary.
Living in the inner cities, far from higher-wage jobs in suburban areas.

​Where people live

Single-parent families are more likely to live in poverty.

​The divorce rate has risen significantly since the 1960s, as has the children born to unmarried parents.

​Family Structure

Decline in high skill high paying manufacturing jobs.
Increase in low skill low paying service jobs.

​Low-wage service jobs

White people are getting paid more for the same work as people of color.
Men are often paid more than women for the same work.

​Unequal treatment

Your level of education can determine your income.

​Lack of Education

​Income distribution

​Lets analyze this distribution of wealth. ​Spend about 30 to a minute talking to a neighbor about what you think is happening in this graph. Be prepared to discuss your answers.

​The Economic Goal of equity

The government spends billions of dollars on programs designed to reduce poverty.
This money is spent mainly on cash assistance, education, medical benefits, and non-cash benefits.
The goal is to ensure basic standard of living for all and to provide the poor an opportunity to improve their condition.

• Welfare to Workfare provides basic needs for people. This is called TANF(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). It has a 5 year limit and the states decide how they distribute it. They then transition to the workforce with government help.

• Education Programs from pre-school to college.

• Earned Income Tax Credit(EITC) is a refundable tax credit that low-income families with children receive when they file their federal income tax return

• Enterprise Zones are areas where companies can locate and be free of certain state, local, and federal taxes and restrictions.