The Importance Of Poverty In The United States

Since President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964 during his union address, there has been an increase shift in our attention in trying to lower the poverty rate in America. Today, the poverty line depends on how many people live in a household but these thresholds are too low and need to be higher. The poverty line should be a clear distinction that shows that if one is to be below it they cannot afford to pay for the all necessities in order to live. Living above the poverty line, even if it is just above, should mean that one can pay for bills that are necessary to live even if they are just making by doing this. While the poverty line has increased due to inflation in wages, what it has not accounted for is the increase cost in living. With this fact, the poverty line is not high enough in today’s …show more content…
According to the Census Bureau there is about forty-seven million people still living in poverty in the United States. With these forty-seven million people comes a poverty threshold which varies from state and the amount of people living in a household. The U.S Department of Health & Human Services states that the threshold for the 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia for just one person is $11,770. Again, this figure has accounted only for the inflation in salary and does not include the inflation of the cost of living. With that in mind, this dollar amount is certainly not enough in order to allow someone to survive without any needed assistance.