Poverty in the United States

Poverty in the United States
Abbasi786786 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	United States poverty
Measurement	Official Poverty Measure, Supplemental Poverty Measure
Currency	United States dollar

Contents

Poverty in the United States is a multifaceted social condition affecting millions across the United States, with complex interactions among historical, demographic, legal, and policy factors. Scholars, policymakers, and organizations including the United States Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyze trends using multiple metrics such as the Official Poverty Measure and Supplemental Poverty Measure. Debates over causes and remedies have involved figures and institutions like President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Lyndon B. Johnson, President Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden and programs such as Social Security (United States), Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Overview and Definitions

The term "poverty" in the United States is operationalized by instruments developed by the U.S. Census Bureau, originally based on work by Mollie Orshansky and later revised by economists at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and research units like the National Academy of Sciences. Policy discussions reference measures from the Office of Management and Budget, estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, and analyses by think tanks such as American Enterprise Institute, Center for American Progress, and Heritage Foundation. Legal frameworks involve statutes like the Social Security Act and rulings from the United States Supreme Court, while international comparisons use data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank.

Poverty trends link to eras and events including the Great Depression, the New Deal, the Great Society, the Reagan Revolution, the Great Recession (2007–2009), and the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic patterns show disparities by race and ethnicity with populations such as African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders exhibiting varied rates, and by age groups including children in the United States, working class, and elderly. Migration and urbanization associated with the Great Migration (African American) and movements to metropolitan areas such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Miami shaped local poverty dynamics, while rural areas in regions like the Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and the Rust Belt faced persistent disadvantage.

Analyses cite structural and proximate causes: labor market change connected to Industrial Revolution legacies, deindustrialization in the United States, automation associated with firms like General Motors and Amazon (company), and globalization linked to trade policies with partners including China and Mexico. Educational disparities involve institutions such as public schools, Ivy League, and community colleges, while health-related causes implicate Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and private insurers like Kaiser Permanente. Family structure discussions reference actors like 1996 welfare reform and courts such as the Supreme Court of the United States, and criminal justice impacts cite Mass incarceration in the United States, sentencing practices, and agencies like the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Measurement debates center on the Official Poverty Measure instituted in the 1960s, its creator Mollie Orshansky, and alternative metrics like the Supplemental Poverty Measure developed by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Researchers at National Bureau of Economic Research, RAND Corporation, and Pew Research Center contrast absolute thresholds with relative measures used by the European Union and proposals from economists such as Amartya Sen and Thomas Piketty. Budgetary analyses by the Congressional Budget Office and legal standards applied by agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services influence eligibility for programs such as Medicaid, Affordable Care Act, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Poverty correlates with health outcomes tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and researched by institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University, affecting rates of chronic disease, infant mortality, and life expectancy. Educational impacts involve disparities in public education, access to Head Start, Pell Grant, and attendance at universities including University of California, Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Employment effects manifest in labor force participation measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, wage stagnation influenced by minimum wage laws debated in state legislatures such as those of California, New York, and Texas, and worker protections involving Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Regional patterns show concentrations in metropolitan areas like New York City, Los Angeles, Detroit, New Orleans, and Chicago and in rural regions including Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, and tribal lands such as the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. State-level variation involves jurisdictions like California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Mississippi, with local governments including city administrations of Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Atlanta implementing targeted programs. Philanthropic and nonprofit efforts by organizations such as United Way, The Salvation Army, Feeding America, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supplement public initiatives.

Category:Society of the United States