Findings are based on a working paper by Robert Wagmiller and Robert Adelman, Childhood and Intergenerational Poverty: The Long-term Consequences of Growing Up Poor commissioned by NCCP. This brief is designed to be a companion piece to this document. The analysis uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a longitudinal data set […]
Author: Sarah Fass
What is the Nature of Poverty and Economic Hardship in the United States? What does it mean to experience poverty? How is poverty measured in the United States? Are Americans who experience poverty now better off than a generation ago? How accurate are commonly held stereotypes about poverty and economic hardship? How Serious is the […]
This fact sheet discusses how the U.S. government measures poverty, why the current measure is inadequate, and what alternative ways exist to measure economic hardship. How does the U.S. measure poverty? The U.S. government measures poverty by a narrow income standard that does not include other aspects of economic status, such as material hardship (for […]
Introduction Millions of working families experience a day-to-day struggle to make ends meet – nearly 40% of America’s children live in low-income families. When these families experience a major life event, such as having a baby or taking care of a family member with a serious illness, their already fragile financial situation can be further […]
Learn about our Making Work Supports Work project. Executive Summary Almost a third of Iowa’s children live in low-income families struggling to make ends meet. “Work supports” – such as earned income tax credits (EITCs), public health insurance, and child care assistance – can help such families close the gap between low wages and the […]
Learn about our Making Work Supports Work project. This is an excerpt from the full report. These are challenging economic times for America’s families. Low- and moderate-income workers are seeing their wages stagnate or decline, while the cost of basic necessities continues to rise. The economy is losing jobs, unemployment rates are rising, families are […]