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Poverty is a state of deprivation, or a lack of the usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.〔Zweig, Michael (2004) ''What's Class Got to do With It, American Society in the Twenty-first Century. ILR Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8899-3〕 The most common measure of poverty in the U.S. is the "poverty threshold" set by the U.S. government. This measure recognizes poverty as a lack of those goods and services commonly taken for granted by members of mainstream society.〔Schwartz, J. E. (2005). ''Freedom reclaimed: Rediscovering the American vision''. Baltimore: G-University Press.〕 The official threshold is adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index. Most Americans will spend at least one year below the poverty line at some point between ages 25 and 75.〔Hacker, J. S. (2006). ''The great risk shift: The new insecurity and the decline of the American dream''. New York: Oxford University Press (USA).〕 Poverty rates are persistently higher in rural and inner city parts of the country as compared to suburban areas.〔(Child Poverty High in Rural America ) Newswise, Retrieved on August 26, 2008.〕 In 2009, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in poverty.〔("Poverty rate hits 15-year high" ) ''Reuters.'' September 17, 2010〕 Starting in the 1930s, relative poverty rates have consistently exceeded those of other wealthy nations. California has a poverty rate of 23.8%, the highest of any state in the country.〔("The Research Supplemental Poverty Measure " ) United States Census Bureau November 2013〕 This is updated from the November 2012 estimate of 23.6. In 2009 the number of people who were in poverty was approaching 1960s levels that led to the national War on Poverty. In 2011 extreme poverty in the United States, meaning households living on less than $2 per day before government benefits, was double 1996 levels at 1.5 million households, including 2.8 million children.〔("Extreme Poverty in the United States, 1996 to 2011" ) ''National Poverty Center'', February 2012〕 In 2012 the percentage of seniors living in poverty was 14% while 18% of children were.〔 The addition of Social Security benefits contributed more to reduce poverty than any other factor.〔(Povery in 13 states is worse than we thought ) Washington Post November 8, 2013〕 Recent census data shows that half the population qualifies as poor or low income,〔(Census data: Half of U.S. poor or low income ). ''CBS News,'' 15 December 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2014.〕 with one in five Millennials living in poverty.〔Jana Kasperkevic (26 December 2014). (One in five millennials lives in poverty, report finds ). ''The Guardian.'' Retrieved 26 December 2014.〕 Academic contributors to ''The Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States'' postulate that new and extreme forms of poverty have emerged in the U.S. as a result of neoliberal structural adjustment policies and globalization, which have rendered economically marginalized communities as destitute "surplus populations" in need of control and punishment.〔Stephen Haymes, Maria Vidal de Haymes and Reuben Miller (eds), ''(The Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States ),'' (London: Routledge, 2015), ISBN 0415673445, (pp. 2 & 3 ).〕 In 2011, child poverty reached record high levels, with 16.7 million children living in food insecure households, about 35% more than 2007 levels.〔 A 2013 UNICEF report ranked the U.S. as having the second highest relative child poverty rates in the developed world.〔Fisher, Max (15 April 2013). (Map: How 35 countries compare on child poverty (the U.S. is ranked 34th) ). ''The Washington Post.'' Retrieved 16 February 2014. See also: (Child well-being in rich countries: A comparative overview ). ''UNICEF office of Research.'' p. 7.〕 There were about 643,000 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people nationwide in January 2009. Almost two-thirds stayed in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program and the other third were living on the street, in an abandoned building, or another place not meant for human habitation. About 1.56 million people, or about 0.5% of the U.S. population, used an emergency shelter or a transitional housing program between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009.〔(HUD 5th Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, June 2010 )〕 Around 44% of homeless people are employed.〔(Employment and Homelessness ). ''National Coalition for the Homeless,'' July 2009.〕 ==Measures of poverty== ===Two official measures of poverty=== There are two basic versions of the federal poverty measure: the poverty thresholds (which are the primary version) and the poverty guidelines. The Census Bureau issues the poverty thresholds, which are generally used for statistical purposes—for example, to estimate the number of people in poverty nationwide each year and classify them by type of residence, race, and other social, economic, and demographic characteristics. The Department of Health and Human Services issues the poverty guidelines for administrative purposes—for instance, to determine whether a person or family is eligible for assistance through various federal programs. The "Orshansky Poverty Thresholds" form the basis for the current measure of poverty in the U.S. Mollie Orshansky was an economist working for the Social Security Administration (SSA). Her work appeared at an opportune moment. Orshansky's article was published later in the same year that Johnson declared war on poverty. Since her measure was absolute (i.e., did not depend on other events), it made it possible to objectively answer whether the U.S. government was "winning" this war. The newly formed United States Office of Economic Opportunity adopted the lower of the Orshansky poverty thresholds for statistical, planning, and budgetary purposes in May 1965. The Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) adopted Orshansky's definition for statistical use in all Executive departments. The measure gave a range of income cutoffs, or thresholds, adjusted for factors such as family size, sex of the family head, number of children under 18 years old, and farm or non-farm residence. The economy food plan (the least costly of four nutritionally adequate food plans designed by the Department of Agriculture) was at the core of this definition of poverty.〔(Poverty Definition ) U.S. Census Bureau. Accessed: 2003-12-27. 〕 At the time of creating the poverty definition, the Department of Agriculture found that families of three or more persons spent about one third of their after-tax income on food. For these families, poverty thresholds were set at three times the cost of the economy food plan. Different procedures were used for calculating poverty thresholds for two-person households and persons living alone. Annual updates of the SSA poverty thresholds were based on price changes in the economy food plan, but updates do not reflect other changes (food is no longer one-third of the after-tax income). Two changes were made to the poverty definition in 1969. Thresholds for non-farm families were tied to annual changes in the Consumer Price Index rather than changes in the cost of the economy food plan. Farm thresholds were raised from 70 to 85% of the non-farm levels. In 1981, further changes were made to the poverty definition. Separate thresholds for "farm" and "female-householder" families were eliminated. The largest family size category became "nine persons or more."〔 Apart from these changes, the U.S. government's approach to measuring poverty has remained static for the past forty years. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Poverty in the United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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