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Relative vs. Absolute Poverty Measures

By Stuart Buck, Esq.

In discussions over poverty and education policy in the United States, it is common to see international comparisons. These comparisons usually make the United States look quite bad -- i.e., 21% of our children are in poverty compared to 4% in Finland.To be sure, childhood poverty is a serious problem in the United States, one that we should address in many ways (such as reforming the tax code so that poor people are not punished for getting married or taking low-paying jobs, increasing the EITC, or even instituting a child allowance). Nothing that follows should be misconstrued as denying any of that.But in making international comparisons, we should also get the numbers right. What bothers me about the usual international comparisons of poverty rates is that they are relative to each country's median income...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Buck Stops Here on April 17, 2014 (boomark / email).