https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2006-01-20/325864/
Thus, individualized budgets taking into account such factors as geographic location, wages, cost of living, and family size make much more accurate poverty indicators, as the D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute demonstrates at www.epi.org/content.cfm/datazone_fambud_budget. According to the institute's budget calculations, a family of four in the Austin-San Marcos area must earn $43,580 to make ends meet way more than the $19,350 poverty line suggests. According to the institute, 35% of Texans live under their "family budget line" the amount they need to earn to make ends meet.
The Community Action Network, a public-private collaboration of local organizations focused on community issues, and the Basic Needs Coalition of Central Texas, a collaboration of several nonprofit organizations, government agencies, faith-based groups, and community activists, are coordinating local poverty awareness-related activities. For more, see www.basicneeds-ctx.org.
1) Mississippi: 17.7% / 29.6%
2) Arkansas: 17.6% / 26.8%
3) New Mexico: 17.5% / 35.3%
4) Louisiana: 17.0% / 28.2%
5) D.C.: 16.8% / 48.0%
6) Texas: 16.4% / 35.0%
7) West Virginia: 16.1% / 38.1%
8) Alabama: 15.5% / 33.8%
9) Kentucky: 15.4% / 27.7%
10) Tennessee: 14.9% / 25.8%
* 2- and 3-Year Averages: 2002-2004. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2003 to 2005 Annual Social and Economic Supplements
** Families With Incomes Less Than Family Budgets. Source: Economic Policy Institute
Copyright © 2024 Austin Chronicle Corporation. All rights reserved.