Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Path: utzoo!decvax!tektronix!hplabs!ucbvax!RED.RUTGERS.EDU!Weinrich
From: Weinrich@RED.RUTGERS.EDU
Newsgroups: mod.politics
Subject: Re: Families below subsistance levels
Message-ID: <12224234503.40.MCGREW@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Date: Sun, 20-Jul-86 14:05:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: RED.12224234503.40.MCGREW
Posted: Sun Jul 20 14:05:40 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Jul-86 00:43:00 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: Weinrich@red.rutgers.edu
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 49
Approved: poli-sci@red.rutgers.edu

Mail-From: WEINRICH created at  4-Jun-86 12:02:14
Date: 4 Jun 86 12:02:12 EDT
From: Tim <WEINRICH@RED.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Re: Families below subsistance levels
To: young-jonathan@YALE.ARPA

    
        Date: 3 Jun 86 11:36:09 EDT (Tue)
        From: Jonathan Young <young-jonathan@YALE.ARPA>
        Subject: Re: Families below subsistance levels
        Huh?  This is a mistake I used to make, too.  The federal
	poverty level is now $12K/year (approx. - I don't remember
	exactly.).  But the thing to remember is that this is for a
	family of FOUR!  Now, I make under $12K/year - I'm a graduate
	student - but I most certainly don't make under $3K/year.

   Oh come on.  A family of four doesnt require anything close to four
times as much money to live as a single person.  For one thing,
they're almost certain to share the same apartment.  (In most areas,
four unrelated people \cant/ share an apartment - by law.)  They will
probably have one car, maybe two, but certainly not four!  Those two
things alone make up the bulk of the expenses that a poor family has.

   I claim that I could live on $4000 per year.  In fact, I claim that
is a liberal estimate of the amount I absolutely need to live - even
in this fairly expensive area.  (I couldnt live here strictly legally
for that - I'd have to share my apartment with three other people.)
Of course, on that income I couldnt afford to keep a car.  Or a
television.  Or a vacation every year, or a movie every week, or a
date every week, or eating out when I want.  But for $4000 (net) I
could rent 1/4 of an apartment, feed myself, clothe myself, pay
minimal phone/electricity bills, maintain my bicycle, and have a bit
left over to save for the occasional doctor/dentist bill.  Figure it
out.

   My reason for pointing this out is that people have a very
exaggerated view of how much money is needed for the necessities of
life.  They set the poverty level at a ridiculous figure like
$12,000/year and then use it to prove that we have a huge number of
poor people.  If you want to know what it is to be \poor/, spend a
week in Tanzania.

   Meanwhile, I'm still awaiting evidence that there are a large
number of people living below the subsistance level in the U.S.


   Twinerik
-------
-------