Media Ignores Obama Admin’s Effort to Define ‘Poverty’ Upward

[Draggingtree]

Wizbang:

 

Media Ignores Obama Admin’s Effort to Define ‘Poverty’ Upward

 

December 3, 2012 | Filed under Asshats,Barack Obama,Big government,corruption,Culture Of Corruption,Democrats,Economics,Employment,Liberals,Media | Posted by Warner Todd Huston

Mickey Kaus has alerted readers to a change in the way the federal government figures the poverty line and that new way so alters the formula that we will never be able to show any improvement in rates of poverty going foward. Worse, the new formula stops measuring strict want and instead measures a more vague “inequality” of income.

The Obama administration has reinvented the poverty formula and is now calling it the “supplemental” poverty line.

“‘New’ is not necessarily ‘improved,’” Kaus dourly notes.

As Kaus explains, the old formula was based on, “the level that bought a minimal market basket of food in 1963-4, adjusted for subsequent inflation and multiplied by three.” The goal was to measure what level of income could afford basic survivability in the current economy, giving a base line of income that could meet basic human needs.

But the new formula is more complicated and “deceptive” to boot.

The new “supplemental” poverty line is a complicated measure produced by formulas that are barely understood by poverty experts. It takes into account in-kind government benefits, which is fine, and regional costs-of-living. But at its core it is a deception: it measures not absolute poverty but relative poverty–i.e. inequality.

[Argyle58]

While defining "poor" upwards, they are also lowering the bar for the definition of "rich". How long before the two groups overlap?

[SrWoodchuck]

While defining "poor" upwards, they are also lowering the bar for the definition of "rich". How long before the two groups overlap?

 

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding.......and......Bingo!

 

Top down, bottom up....squeeeeeeeze the middle. We'll have one large "middle" class....because they win & spin it that way....and an elite ruling "progressive" class.