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You can be above the poverty line and still be poor. Based on the document you posted, you qualify for reduced-priced meals if your family of four lives on $44,

You can be above the poverty line and still be poor. Based on the document you posted, you qualify for reduced-priced meals if your family of four lives on $44,955 per year or $865 per week. If I understand the article correctly, more than half of public school students come from families poorer than that. Wow.

flubert 10y ago
Does anyone have the statistics on how many of those kids are from single-parent households?
danielvf 10y ago
You can live a very comfortable life in much of the US for $44,000 a year. We spent 30K last year for a family of six, not including taxes, giving, and health insurance. And that includes materials for homeschooling, and upgrading to a minivan.
- hackuser 10y ago
  I don't agree that it applies to "most of the U.S." or even very widely. Also, you are talking after taxes; the document says income is measured before taxes. Also, recall that most poor are in cities.
  - danielvf 10y ago
    Graduated income tax and child tax credit starts making a big difference in taxes for below median incomes. $48,000 before taxes with four kids is around $5,500 in taxes before any other deductions or credits. With things like EIC and a normal set of deductions and credits, I'd expect actual income tax to be between none and $2,500. Families pay proportionally way less taxes than single people do.
    - hackuser 10y ago
      You're only talking about income tax. Social Security, FICA, etc. are regressive taxes that make the working class pay higher rates overall than many people who are wealthier.
- lovich 10y ago
  Rent in boston for a family of six would be over 30k after taxes and that's with living in ghetto. I live in a 600 sq ft home and its 21600 a year. Your budget definitely doesn't apply across the country
  - danielvf 10y ago
    Yeah. I'm not saying that's a comfortable income accross the county - it certainly is not - but there are plenty of places where $44,000 a year is all you need, and some extra. -- For a housing comparison with you in Boston, our 1,800 square foot house in a good neighborhood, 30 minutes from downtown Charlotte, NC is $8,100 per year, including insurance and taxes. This may be why the whole northeast appears to be trying to move to Charlotte.
  - flubert 10y ago
    You might be interested in moving to a lower cost of living location. 2960 sq. ft., $39,400, $229/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/454-Steam-Engine-Dr-Northfork-WV-24868/2098555364_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/454-Steam-Engine-Dr-Northf... 2,114 sq. ft., $35,000, $259/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/63-Forest-St-Rutland-VT-05701/92019775_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/63-Forest-St-Rutland-VT-05... 2,965 sq. ft., $47,500, $303/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/102-N-Main-St-Plainview-NE-68769/108937163_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/102-N-Main-St-Plainview-NE... 2,858 sq. ft., $39,900, $264/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12-Spring-St-Northumberland-NH-03582/86747520_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12-Spring-St-Northumberlan...
    - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
      While those houses in Vermont and New Hampshire are well-appreciated, most people living in and around Boston probably have fairly specific reasons (ie: job, family, life history) for not moving to Nebraska or West Virginia. "Just abandon your livelihood to go find cheaper land" is not a solution unless your livelihood is in real-estate speculation.
      - 10y ago
Spivak 10y ago
In fact, most organizations, including the US government, use around 200% of the poverty line as their cutoff for different kinds of benefits. 185% of the poverty line is pretty much universally accepted as poor and shouldn't be used to cast doubt on the article.

flubert 10y ago

Does anyone have the statistics on how many of those kids are from single-parent households?

danielvf 10y ago

You can live a very comfortable life in much of the US for $44,000 a year. We spent 30K last year for a family of six, not including taxes, giving, and health insurance. And that includes materials for homeschooling, and upgrading to a minivan.

hackuser 10y ago
I don't agree that it applies to "most of the U.S." or even very widely. Also, you are talking after taxes; the document says income is measured before taxes. Also, recall that most poor are in cities.
- danielvf 10y ago
  Graduated income tax and child tax credit starts making a big difference in taxes for below median incomes. $48,000 before taxes with four kids is around $5,500 in taxes before any other deductions or credits. With things like EIC and a normal set of deductions and credits, I'd expect actual income tax to be between none and $2,500. Families pay proportionally way less taxes than single people do.
  - hackuser 10y ago
    You're only talking about income tax. Social Security, FICA, etc. are regressive taxes that make the working class pay higher rates overall than many people who are wealthier.
lovich 10y ago
Rent in boston for a family of six would be over 30k after taxes and that's with living in ghetto. I live in a 600 sq ft home and its 21600 a year. Your budget definitely doesn't apply across the country
- danielvf 10y ago
  Yeah. I'm not saying that's a comfortable income accross the county - it certainly is not - but there are plenty of places where $44,000 a year is all you need, and some extra. -- For a housing comparison with you in Boston, our 1,800 square foot house in a good neighborhood, 30 minutes from downtown Charlotte, NC is $8,100 per year, including insurance and taxes. This may be why the whole northeast appears to be trying to move to Charlotte.
- flubert 10y ago
  You might be interested in moving to a lower cost of living location. 2960 sq. ft., $39,400, $229/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/454-Steam-Engine-Dr-Northfork-WV-24868/2098555364_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/454-Steam-Engine-Dr-Northf... 2,114 sq. ft., $35,000, $259/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/63-Forest-St-Rutland-VT-05701/92019775_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/63-Forest-St-Rutland-VT-05... 2,965 sq. ft., $47,500, $303/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/102-N-Main-St-Plainview-NE-68769/108937163_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/102-N-Main-St-Plainview-NE... 2,858 sq. ft., $39,900, $264/mo: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12-Spring-St-Northumberland-NH-03582/86747520_zpid/ http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12-Spring-St-Northumberlan...
  - eli_gottlieb 10y ago
    While those houses in Vermont and New Hampshire are well-appreciated, most people living in and around Boston probably have fairly specific reasons (ie: job, family, life history) for not moving to Nebraska or West Virginia. "Just abandon your livelihood to go find cheaper land" is not a solution unless your livelihood is in real-estate speculation.
    - 10y ago

Spivak 10y ago

In fact, most organizations, including the US government, use around 200% of the poverty line as their cutoff for different kinds of benefits. 185% of the poverty line is pretty much universally accepted as poor and shouldn't be used to cast doubt on the article.