Center for Policy Research in Environment, Energy, and Community
Center Director Predicts Spike in Poverty Rate
University Park, Pa. -- The number of Americans living in poverty likely will rise as the economy stalls, predicted Amy Glasmeier, director of the Penn State Center for Policy Research in Environment, Energy and Community.
"During recessions, unemployment goes up and incomes go down," Glasmeier said recently as part of a presentation-"The American Paradox: Everyone Deserves a Chance and Yet You are Expected to Make it on Your Own, A Look at Recent Statistics"-for the Division of Development and Alumni Relations at Penn State.
Exacerbating the situation for America's poor is that federal money for poverty policy dries up, too, said Glasmeier, citing how that happened when the nation slipped into recession in the 1980s.
Those most likely to feel the economic pinch are children. Already nearly one in five children now lives in poverty, said Glasmeier, also professor of geography and regional planning.
Glasmeier rejects the notion that America's poor are not working. Many are but have low-paying or low-income jobs, so they are not able to earn what she calls a "living wage."
"Poor people are working, but they are not earning enough to afford child care or health care," she said.
She noted that the federal government classifies a family of four as living in poverty if the family earns $18,810. That does not take into account the signification variation in costs across the U.S., Glasmeier said.
America is alone among industrialized countries in setting an absolute measure for poverty. Other countries use median income, said Glasmeier, who added that in the United Kingdom, poverty is defined as 60 percent below median income.
If such an approach were used in America, the number of poverty would dramatically increase but would provide a more accurate accounting, she said.
"It is expensive to not have poor people," she said. "There are no short-term solutions."
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