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> Given that poverty is defined as income before transfers . . . I have never heard of anyone who defines it this way or cares about this definition. What most
by jamesaguilar 13y ago
> Given that poverty is defined as income before transfers . . .
I have never heard of anyone who defines it this way or cares about this definition. What most people who care about poverty care about is that the poor do not get to consume "enough" goods and services, for some level of enough. The amount they earn is of secondary interest.
- yummyfajitas 13y agoThe US government defines poverty in terms of income before (some) transfers. E.g., social security is included, section 8 is not. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measur... People on the left generally consider this definition to be the important one and dismiss conservatives when they point out that consumption poverty is nearly a solved problem. See also the obsessive focus on income inequality rather than the much lower consumption inequality. Don't get me wrong - I agree with you that we should define poverty this way - construct a fixed basket of goods and declare that anyone who acquires it or has the ability to do so is not poor. But I'm very much in the minority on this.