What is Poverty?

Relative Poverty:

According to Dunn (2017)

--> Poor in relation to the masses or the average lifestyle within the population 

 --> If everyone within a given population has a smartphone, and some individuals are unable to afford it- this would place them in the category of "relative poverty". They are poor in relation to the rest of the population.

- "Keeping up with the Joneses"

are you up to par with your neighbors?

If you can't remember the definition of relative poverty-- try thinking about it this way!  Are certain people able to keep up with the average lifestyle within the population? Are they "Keeping up with the Joneses?"

Absolute Poverty:

According to Eitzen and Zinn (2012)

   

- Those making less than $1/day

- How many things can you think of that you can buy with  <$1 daily?

- A life degraded by disease, illiteracy, malnutrition and squalor

- Those who are living in absolute poverty are highly susceptible to these things. 

- Denial of basic necessities

--> No clean water, food, shelter etc.

Bradshaw (2006) defines poverty in a general sense as “lack of necessities- basic food, shelter, medical care and safety are generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity”.

Official Poverty:

- The government settles on who is poor
- This creates a uniform means for counting the poor & measuring poverty.
- This is where the "official poverty line" is established

According to the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research, "Since its initial rapid decline after 1964 with the launch of major War on Poverty programs, the poverty rate has fluctuated between around 11 and 15 percent [in the United States].

*supplemental poverty- "The supplemental measure includes basic costs of living that can vary across states. It also includes transfers from safety net programs and in-kind benefits" (UCDavis Center for Poverty Research, 2016).