U.N. Estimate of Extreme Poverty Different from U.S.

Homeless camp
“Emptiness” by Paolo Gamba licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: Washington Post

The United Nations’ estimate of those living in extreme poverty in the United States differs vastly from that of the administration.

Earlier this year the UN estimated that there are approximately 40 million Americans living in poverty, and of those, at least 18 million living in extreme poverty.

Extreme poverty has been defined as families living with an income of half of the official poverty rate, which was about $12,000 for a family of four back in 2016, as reported by Washington Post.

The Heritage Foundation on the other hand estimates that .08 percent of American households are living in extreme poverty, and took into account families who use government assistance programs.

U.S. officials believe the UN’s report is skewed and the actual number of Americans living in extreme poverty is closer to 250,000.

Read Full Story: Washington Post

Justice & Poverty, News
Justice & Poverty, News