Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 20:55:49 -0800
From: Dan Helphrey <dbhdesign-AT-earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: question re US poverty line


Here is an excellent site with just the info you are looking
for...http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/faq1.htm

The more important question you might ask, however, is whether these numbers
have any meaning in the real world.  The poverty guideline for a single
person is US$ 8,240.  One cannot find a studio apartment (single room with
bathroom and tiny kitchen) for less than about $400 here in Los Angeles
County, with a flat-mate, one could get a two bedroom for about $750, or $375
ea., so rent will come to $4,500.  My utilities, gas, electricity, and water
run me around $50/mo., so add another $600/yr.  Typical grocery total for a
single person is about $150/mo. (statistic courtesy of my very own debt
counsellor) so there's another $1800/yr.  A monthly bus pass is $42, so
there's another $504/yr.  So, the total actual cost for subsistence level
expenses is US$7,404.00/year, leaving a whopping $69.67 a month for
"luxuries" like health care, a telephone, new clothes, or the occasional
pint.

catkawin wrote:

> Hi,
>
> can anybody give me some advice regarding the official poverty line in the
> States: is it still at US$ 12,000 per year and when has it last been
> revised?
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> catkawin
>
> ## CrossPoint v3.11 ##



--
Dan, just another disgruntled wage-slave

“So, cut your hair and never stare at people who ain’t aware that every
morning they wake up dead...”

-Richard Fariña, “Sell-Out Agitation Waltz”