Weinrich@RED.RUTGERS.EDU (07/20/86)
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
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