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Isn't it simply possible that what constitutes poverty has changed over time? If poverty is defined as, say, the bottom tenth of the population income-wise, the
by nilkn 12y ago
Isn't it simply possible that what constitutes poverty has changed over time? If poverty is defined as, say, the bottom tenth of the population income-wise, then poverty will never decrease, by definition.
- Symmetry 12y agoIt's not just possible, that's how the US government statistics work. Poverty is defined in relation to the distribution of pre-tax, pre-benefits income. So barring a radical change in the distribution of income, neither government anti-poverty programs or general economic growth can reduce poverty by definition. Why was this definition pushed by the same people pushing anti-poverty programs? I really have no idea.