Table 1: Budget for average family of four.
Based on this I would set the federal poverty level for a family of four to be a monthly income that is equal to or less than $1,880. If a family meets these criteria then they would be considered for additional resources. Some resources that should be made available would be:
- Agreements with the local utility companies to set a budget at the federal poverty standard.
- Non-cash grocery allowances via food stamps or cards.
- Partial rent allowance.
- Health Insurace
Assuming responsible spending of the money freed up from such assistance, and the responsible spending of the money already budgeted, then such assistance would be deemed adequate to take a family out of a absolute poverty situation.
The current federal poverty line for a family of four is set at $19,350 which is less than the value I contrived. The federal guidelines are based upon values originally contrived by Mollie Orshansky in 1963-1964. She found that for families of three or more, amount spent on food was one third of their total gross income. She then utilized the economy food plan as a basis for the federal poverty line. She multiplied the cost for families of three or more for the economy food plan and multiplied it by a factor of three. However, unlike with my calculations for the federal poverty level, Orshansky did not take into allowance any other of the budgeted items that causes a family expense2 which, in my opinion, does not accurately reflect a family’s needs. Now every year new federal poverty levels are updated by a method of multiplying the previous year’s standard by 1.027 (to account for inflation), and taking the differences of increasing family size, and adding them to the base level for a family of one3.
The federal poverty level as described by my budget can reflect a conservative ideology. The budget includes basic, realistic needs. Even so, it would take a minimum hourly working wage of $11.75, for fourty hours a week, for fourty eight weeks to even attain this poverty level. Ohio is one of three states with a minimum wage rate that is lower than the Federal rate. Ohio state law only mandates for the minimum wage to be $4.25 an hour. At this rate, with one person working they would make $8,160-much below my federal poverty line. In fact, if both adults in the scenario worked at this rate their combined income would only be $16,320-still much under the federal poverty line4. If both parents were working then they would also incur child care expenses that were not originally included in the budget. With the poverty level that I attained, there would be a significant number of persons, families that would increase the official poverty data compiled by the U.S. Census. This is shocking also considering a conservative budget measures were taken into account. Clearly minimum wage rates and the federal poverty levels should be reconsidered.
References:
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Environmental Quality as a Social Problem,
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Fischer, Gordon. “The Development and History of the U.S. Poverty Thresholds —A Brief Overview”.
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United States Department of Health hand Human Services
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U.S. Department of LaborMinimum Wage Laws in the States. August 1, 2005
