Poverty
The inability to live for a sustained period of time without financial assistance.
This definition contrasts with the U.S. government’s definition of poverty, which is based on inadequate and often harmful to people living in poverty. The U.S. government uses a national threshold, commonly called the federal poverty line (FPL) to define, measure, and count... This threshold represents the level of income needed to live for a sustained period of time without assistance, but it is national figure, neglectful of local costs of living. It is also based on an outdated formula from the late 1950s that was not intended to be used as an income standard int eh first place.
Our income standards are based on 50% of median income for every county in the country. These locally-based income standards reflect the resources required to live within a community. Of note is that there are several other self-sufficiency standards used in the U.S., but basing it on 50% of local median income is simple to calculate and replicate. It is also used around the world and has been used int eh U.S. since the 1930s to determine who qualifies for housing assistance. Further, rather than enter the discussion about how to best define minimum needs and self-sufficiency, we want to focus efforts on developing and implementing solutions to poverty.
Deep Poverty
the difference between poverty and deep poverty is ciritcal to understand, as the latter is typically what peopel in the UNited States belive the former to be. In specific, we define poverty here this is what many people believe poverty to be, but it is based that falls below the federal government’s poverty line. It is best conceived of as extreme poverty because the FPL is so low as to not be a meaningful definiton of “poverty.”
Economic stability
independently meeting your daily needs on an ongoing basis.
Poverty Industrial Complex
an institutionalized and often territorial system whereby poverty nonprofits, government agencies, and other entities provide services without a determination to end the problems faced by their clients. It is often accompanied by the phrase managing poverty and success with the poverty nonprofit sector is often assessed by funds raised. Executives in such organizations — and in government anti-poverty programs — may earn large salaries while the people and the communities in which they live see little improvement.
Welfare and the Safety Net
Government programs designed to help those experiencing economic instability, the modern welfare state in the United States was begun in the depths of the Great Depression when Congress passed, and President Roosevelt signed, the Social Security Act of 1935. That act created three programs: what is now called social Security, Unemployment Insurance (UI), and Aid to Dependent Children (ADC). This last one has changed names thusly: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1962; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996.
The safety net became a term used more frq2uently when government programs were greatly expanded through President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, which aimed “not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” It did none of the three.
Sources:
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26942/w26942.pdf
EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit)
a refundable tax credit for low- to moderate-income working individuals and couples, particularly those with children. The amount of EITC benefit depends on a recipient's income and number of children. Low-income adults with no children are eligible. For a person or couple to claim one or more persons as their qualifying child, requirements such as relationship, age, and shared residency must be met.”
Formal understanding:
“the largest means-tested cash transfer program in the United States…Eligibility for the EITC depends on total family earnings—wage earnings plus self-employment income—and the number of qualifying dependents. Qualifying dependents for EITC purposes are relatives who are under age 19 (24 for full time students) or permanently disabled, and reside with the tax filer for at least half the year”
CTC (Child Tax Credit)
A tax credit by which all but the most high-income households can pay fewer taxes or even get money back from the government, depending on how many children the household has. It provides $2,000 in tax relief per qualifying child, with up to $1,400 of that refundable.
Formal understanding:
“The CTC operates by reducing one’s tax liability by the amount of the credit for which one qualifies. It is partially refundable, meaning that a taxpayer with a CTC in excess of their tax liability may receive a refund from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for some or all of the excess credit amount…The amount by which the taxpayer benefits from the credit is a function of three main factors: (1) the number of qualifying children the taxpayer claims, (2) the taxpayer’s income, and (3) the taxpayer’s tax liability, absent the credit…In general, a taxpayer’s CTC is equal to $2,000 per qualifying child the taxpayer claims for the credit on their tax return. The credit is phased out for very high-income taxpayers…”
TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
TANF is a time-limited program that helps families when parents or other relatives cannot provide for the family's basic needs. The federal government provides grants to states to run the TANF program. States carry out their own programs and decide on issues such as:
Design of the program
Type and amount of assistance payments
Range of services to be provided
Rules for determining who qualifies for benefits.
https://www.hhs.gov/answers/programs-for-families-and-children/what-is-tanf/index.html
Formal understanding:
“The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides federal grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Indian tribes, and the territories for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. It is best known for helping states pay for cash welfare for needy families with children, but it funds a wide array of additional activities…States may use TANF and MOE funds in any manner “reasonably calculated” to achieve TANF’s statutory purpose. This purpose is to increase state flexibility to achieve four goals: (1) provide assistance to needy families with children so that they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives; (2) end dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage; (3) reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and (4) promote the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.”
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4887406d-8ab1-4194-b62b-018feaae5874/content