Poverty Measure

The Poverty Measure: Commentaries

Find out what leading national figures, experts and advocates are saying about the federal poverty measure. Click below for exclusive Spotlight commentaries as well as key newspaper opinion pieces. 


SPOTLIGHT COMMENTARIES

Poor Measurement Commentary Series
Many experts and elected officials alike have made repeated calls to update the federal poverty measure, especially in light of a changed economy that has altered substantially in the nearly half-century that has passed since the federal poverty measure was first adopted. In February 2008, Spotlight launched an exclusive series of commentaries entitled Poor Measurement to further explore the issue. Over the next several months, Spotlight will continue to bring together experts, advocates and policymakers to address how and why to update the federal poverty measure.

The commentaries are listed here in reverse chronological order.

  • The Supplemental Poverty Measure: Two Views (November 8, 2011)
    By Indivar Dutta-Gupta, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Peter Mitchell, The Clapham Group

  • Building Economic Security and Reducing Poverty: Why A New Measure Should Include a Making-Ends-Meet Calculation (November 16, 2009)
    • By Annette Case, policy consultant, Strategies to Eliminate Poverty

    C. Nicole Mason, executive director, Women of Color Policy Network, New York University

    Diana Pearce, founder and director, Center for Women’s Welfare and senior lecturer, University of Washington School of Social Work

    John Quinterno, research associate, North Carolina Budget and Tax Center

    Mark Levitan, director of poverty research, New York City Center for Economic Opportunity

    Shawn Fremstad, director of the Bridging the Gaps project, Center for Economic and Policy Research

    Rebecca M. Blank, Robert S. Kerr senior fellow,Brookings Institution and Mark Greenberg, executive director, the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Public Policy

    Other Spotlight commentaries on the poverty measure
    Veronica White, executive director, New York City Center for Economic Opportunity

    Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), chair of the House Subcommittee on Income, Security and Family Support

    MORE COMMENTARIES

    Stephen Crawford, Corporation for Enterprise Development and Shawn Fremstad, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Reuters

    Bruce D. Meyer, University of Chicago, and James X. Sullivan, University of Notre Dame, Special to CNN

    Rourke L. O’Brian & David S. Pedulla, Stanford Social Innovation Review

    Terry Haven, director, KIDS COUNT, Voices for Utah Children

    Anne Stuhldreher, senior research fellow, California and Asset Building Programs, New America Foundation

  • Counting What Counts (August 29, 2007)
    • Douglas W. Nelson, president, the Annie E. Casey Foundation

  • Why Poverty Doesn't Rate (September 3, 2006)
    • Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt scholar in Political Economy, American Enterprise Institute