Poverty in the United States: 2009

[Excerpt] The measure of poverty currently in use was developed nearly 50 years ago, and was adopted as the “official” U.S. statistical measure of poverty in 1969. Except for minor technical changes, and adjustments for price changes in the economy, the “poverty line” (i.e., the income thresholds by which families or individuals with incomes that fall below are deemed to be poor) is the same as that developed nearly a half century ago, reflecting a notion of economic need based on living standards that prevailed in the mid-1950s. Moreover, poverty as it is currently measured only counts families’ and individuals’ pre-tax money income against the poverty line in determining whether or not they are poor. In-kind benefits, such as benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly named the Food Stamp program) and housing assistance are not accounted for under the “official” poverty definition, nor are the effects of taxes or tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Tax Credit (CTC). In this sense, the “official” measure fails to capture the effects of a variety of programs and policies specifically designed to address income poverty. A congressionally commissioned study conducted by a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel of experts recommended, some 15 years ago, that a new U.S. poverty measure be developed, offering a number of specific recommendations. Bills introduced in the 111th Congress (H.R. 2909 and S. 1625) would instruct the Census Bureau to develop a new “modern” poverty measure, following NAS recommendations. More recently, under the Obama Administration, an initiative is underway for the Census Bureau to develop a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) that would reflect many of the NAS panel’s recommendations and be informed by research conducted on those recommendations over the past 15 years. This initiative aligns with many of the provisions in H.R. 2909 and S. 1625. Statistics based on the SPM, which has yet to be developed, are to accompany the Census Bureau’s fall 2011 scheduled release of 2010 income and poverty statistics under the “official” measure. The new poverty measure is to be considered an “experimental” measure, to supplement the “official” poverty measure. The “official” statistical poverty measure would continue to be used by programs that use it as the basis for allocating funds under formula and matching grant programs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would continue to issue poverty income guidelines derived from “official” Census Bureau poverty thresholds. HHS poverty guidelines are used in determining individual and family income eligibility under a number of federal and state programs. This CRS report will be updated on an annual basis, following release of U.S. Census Bureau annual income and poverty estimates

What Gets Changed? Sam Gets Changed?

(Excerpt) Most of what I learn about ritual and liturgy and church I learn from places that aren\u27t about ritual and liturgy and church-novels and poems and music and dance-and from people who don\u27t know the jargon but often know the Lord and the church. The tide of this presentation comes from one such fellow named Sam. He is a member of St. Henry Church on the southwest side of Cleveland. You\u27ll see a little of that church later on in this hour. We were there last fall, some of us from LTP, to make a video about the communion rite at Sunday mass. We had been looking for some parish where they really did the rite, and here we found one. So on one weekend we shot the video at their church and the producer interviewed a dozen or so parishioners and the clergy

RCIA and the Formation of Liturgical Piety

(Excerpt) Here is what I think the formation of liturgical piety means. You will recognize at once, I believe, these words which in December 1988 will celebrate their 25th birthday, words taken from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the first work of Vatican II. In what seems to me to be the very clearest and most amazing statement of its own zeal for putting the renewal of the liturgy as its first and foundational work, the Council said

The Grace of Leading the Assembly

(Excerpt) It is good in nearly every Christian liturgy there comes a moment when all present pray to be forgiven just as they are themselves now offering forgiveness. Thus do assemblies and presiders provide a ground for meeting again next Sunday and giving it another go

Poverty in the United States: 2011

[Excerpt] In 2011, 46.2 million people were counted as poor in the United States, the same number as in 2010 and the largest number of persons counted as poor in the measure’s 53-year recorded history. The poverty rate, or percent of the population considered poor under the official definition, was reported at 15.0% in 2011, statistically unchanged from 2010. The 2011 poverty rate of 15.0% is well above its most recent pre-recession low of 12.3% in 2006, and has reached the highest level seen in the past 18 years (1993). The increase in poverty over the past four years reflects the effects of the economic recession that began in December 2007. Some analysts expect poverty to remain above pre-recessionary levels for as long as a decade, and perhaps longer, given the depth of the recession and slow pace of economic recovery. The pre-recession poverty rate of 12.3% in 2006 was well above the 11.3% rate at the beginning of the decade, in 2000, which marked a historical low previously attained in 1973 (11.1%, a rate statistically tied with the 2000 poverty rate). The incidence of poverty varies widely across the population according to age, education, labor force attachment, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. Under the official poverty definition, an average family of four was considered poor in 2011 if its pretax cash income for the year was below $23,021. The measure of poverty currently in use was developed nearly 50 years ago, and was adopted as the “official” U.S. statistical measure of poverty in 1969. Except for minor technical changes, and adjustments for price changes in the economy, the “poverty line” (i.e., the income thresholds by which families or individuals with incomes that fall below are deemed to be poor) is the same as that developed nearly a half century ago, reflecting a notion of economic need based on living standards that prevailed in the mid-1950s. Moreover, poverty as it is currently measured only counts families’ and individuals’ pre-tax money income against the poverty line in determining whether or not they are poor. In-kind benefits, such as benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly named the Food Stamp program) and housing assistance are not accounted for under the “official” poverty definition, nor are the effects of taxes or tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Tax Credit (CTC). In this sense, the “official” measure fails to capture the effects of a variety of programs and policies specifically designed to address income poverty. A congressionally commissioned study conducted by a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel of experts recommended, some 16 years ago, that a new U.S. poverty measure be developed, offering a number of specific recommendations. The Census Bureau, in partnership with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), has developed a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) designed to implement many of the NAS panel recommendations. The SPM is to be considered a “research” measure, to supplement the “official” poverty measure. Guided by new research, the Census Bureau and BLS intend to improve the SPM over time. The “official” statistical poverty measure will continue to be used by programs that use it as the basis for allocating funds under formula and matching grant programs. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will continue to issue poverty income guidelines derived from “official” Census Bureau poverty thresholds. HHS poverty guidelines are used in determining individual and family income eligibility under a number of federal and state programs. Estimates from the SPM differ from the “official” poverty measure and are presented in a final section of this report