How much do you know about poverty?

2. How much did the US government spend on SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) in 2022?

  • Incorrect.

  • Nope.

  • Correct.

    The amount we spend on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is just another reason that solving poverty instead of treating its symptoms would save American taxpayers’ considerable hard-earned dollars in the future.

    Source: Pew Research Center

  • It’s a lot more than this, unfortunately.

3. While the way the U.S. government measures poverty is inaccurate, it does provide helpful data relative to economic hardship. Given that, when in the 21st century was the federal poverty rate the highest?

  • Incorrect. The percentage in 2000 was 9.6%, which remains the lowest this century - and the lowest since 1989.

  • Correct. The percentage in 2011 was the highest of the century, at 14.8%.

  • Close. The percentage in 2014 was 14.55%, which is tragically high, but we have seen worse this century. Still, 2014-2015 represented the worst two-year period.

  • Incorrect. The percentage in 2019 was 13%.

4. What percentage of children from low-income households pass school benchmark exams?

  • Incorrect.

  • Incorrect.

  • Sadly, it’s even lower.

  • In 2021, only 18% of children from low-income households scored as proficient on scholastic achievement tests.

    That’s not even one out of five.

    The truth is that it is WE who are failing; we need to ensure children are better prepared for their futures.

    Source: Cato Institute

5. How much does a family of three need to get by on their own without assistance in Washington, DC?

  • Incorrect.

    That’s how much a family in New Orleans needs.

  • Nope

    That’s how much a family in San Francisco needs.

  • Incorrect

    That’s how much a family in Topeka, KS needs.

The War on Poverty was declared in this country in 1964. This is a present-day block in Baltimore and park in Los Angeles. This is what it looks like to lose that war.