Counting the poor in America proves difficult, controversial

How many poor people are there in America?

It depends how you ask the question. The official U.S. Census Bureau report released in September put the number at 46.2 million. In a second, unofficial report published last week, the bureau estimated the number is closer to 49 million.

The official measure, devised in 1964 to measure progress in President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty," is based on the idea that families spend one-third of their income on food. To establish federal poverty lines, experts calculated the lowest annual cost of feeding a family and multiplied it by three. Poverty experts have long criticized the method as outdated and simplistic. The measure does not account for money received in food stamps and other benefits or the money lost to taxes and medical care. It also doesn't account for regional differences in cost of living. The new report, known as the supplemental poverty measure, attempts to address these factors.

"The official measure no longer corresponds to reality," Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia University, told the New York Times. "It doesn't get either side of the equation right — how much the poor have or how much they need. No one really trusts the data."

Unless Congress decides otherwise, federal assistance programs will rely on the old measure of poverty to determine eligibility.

Accounting for benefits and costs draws a significantly different picture of poverty in America.

A person who is considered poor under the official measure may not be considered poor under the supplemental measure. Take Angelique Melton, a single mother living in North Carolina, for example. Working part-time at Wal-Mart making $7,500 a year, the New York Times reports the mother of two is living well below the official federal poverty line of $17,400. If government aid is taken into account (Melton qualifies for a $4,000 tax credit because of her low income, accepts housing aid and collects $5,400 in food benefits), her annual income rings in at $18,800 — above the federal poverty line.

While the official report shows 16.8 million children in poverty, the new measure shows 13.6 million. The new report also suggests there are more poor people aged 65 and up — 6.2 percent compared to 3.5 percent. Poverty rates among married couples and male-headed households are higher under the second measure. African Americans fare better, while whites, Asians and Latinos fare worse.