What is Poverty?

The Heritage Foundation’s recently released a report on the state of the poor in the United States entitled “Air Conditioning, Cable TV, and an Xbox: What is Poverty in the United States Today?”

This report does not provide the “full picture” of what it means to be poor in America. I fear it leaves out some imperative context needed to fully understand poverty and poverty-related issues. In short, there are more issues to consider than touched upon in the report.

First of all, we as Americans, tend to have a distorted view of what it means to be impoverished in America. It’s easy to look at people suffering in Africa and associate that with “poverty.” Truth be told, poverty is relative. It can mean everything from living on $1.00 a day in Ethiopia (global poverty), to qualifying for free or reduced lunches in the Midwest (poverty in our backyards.)

According to the Foundation’s findings, “the typical poor household, as defined by the government, has a car and air conditioning,” among other things. Additionally, the report states that “some 96 percent of poor parents report their children were never hungry at any time in the prior year.”

The Foundation posits that these items (car and air conditioner) are luxuries, not necessities. I would like to contest that the current era and standard of living needs to be taken into account. I realize there are alternatives to car ownership. Still, public transportation does not meet most people’s needs.  Reaching employers, schools, child care providers, grocery stores and all things we need in our lives simply make private transportation a key need for every family in America today.

As for air conditioners, the mere presence of one is not an indicator of income. It’s not unusual for a rental unit to have one included in the cost of rent; therefore there is no “extra” cost associated with it. What’s more in warm climates, where the temperature can be unsafe (100+ degrees in the summer), air conditioning becomes a health issue. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to heat exhaustion, dehydration and other related issues.

I question the methodology for obtaining the data on child hunger.  Maybe most families are not going hungry because they seek help in the form of food banks or food stamps. (Proof that there is a need for anti-poverty organization like food banks.) Furthermore, there is a psychological component to this question. What parent would want to openly admit that their children are going hungry? The survey is only as accurate as the responses provided, no matter how off base they may be. The sheer embarrassment and guilt of not being able to provide for would certainly affect parents’ responses.

Reports like this offer a chance for public discourse surrounding issues like poverty. And for that reason, I am happy that the report seems to have started a conversation even if we all don’t always come to the same conclusions. Indeed there are always two sides to an issue. But poverty is so complex that we must not put too much stock in a single report that only speaks to outward appearances. There is generally a lot more going on below the surface.