drumpf may redefine poverty, cutting Americans from welfare rolls

[Bill]

More Americans forced on to the streets, make America great again


Justin Sink

The Trump administration may alter the way it determines the national poverty threshold, putting Americans living on the margins at risk of losing access to welfare programs.

The possible move would involve changing how inflation is calculated in the “official poverty measure,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits.

The measure, first set in the 1960s, is calculated at three times the cost of a minimum food diet and adjusted every year as prices rise. In 2018, a family of four making no more than $25,900 was considered impoverished. The figure determines eligibility for a wide swath of federal, state, and non-profit programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.

By changing the index the government uses to calculate how much the cost of living rises or falls, the poverty level could rise at a slower rate.

One proposal the Office of Management and Budget suggested in the filing is to shift to so-called chained CPI, which regularly shows a slower pace of price gains than traditional measures. Chained CPI shows slower inflation growth because it assumes consumers will substitute less expensive items when prices for specific individual goods increase significantly.

“Because of this, changes to the poverty thresholds, including how they are updated for inflation over time, may affect eligibility for programs that use the poverty guidelines,” OMB said in a notice published to the federal register.

A spokesman for OMB did not return a request for comment.

Read more: Lowest earners miss out as incomes and spending rise

The possible change appears to be the latest effort by the Trump administration to make it harder to access welfare programs. Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to more strictly enforce current work requirements for welfare recipients, and propose additional, more stringent requirements that could further reduce eligibility.

“Millions of able-bodied, working-age adults continue to collect food stamps without working or even looking for work,” Trump said in December. “Our goal is to move these Americans from dependence to independence, and into a good-paying job and rewarding career.”

This isn’t the first time a White House has considered using chained CPI to bring down the cost of government programs. President Barack Obama in 2014 proposed switching cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and other retirement programs to the index. Congressional Democrats responded with an uproar, causing Obama to abandon the proposal in later budgets.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...IiJ?li=BBnbfcN

[Ralph]

More Americans forced on to the streets, make America great again


Justin Sink

The Trump administration may alter the way it determines the national poverty threshold, putting Americans living on the margins at risk of losing access to welfare programs.

The possible move would involve changing how inflation is calculated in the “official poverty measure,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits.

The measure, first set in the 1960s, is calculated at three times the cost of a minimum food diet and adjusted every year as prices rise. In 2018, a family of four making no more than $25,900 was considered impoverished. The figure determines eligibility for a wide swath of federal, state, and non-profit programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.

By changing the index the government uses to calculate how much the cost of living rises or falls, the poverty level could rise at a slower rate.

One proposal the Office of Management and Budget suggested in the filing is to shift to so-called chained CPI, which regularly shows a slower pace of price gains than traditional measures. Chained CPI shows slower inflation growth because it assumes consumers will substitute less expensive items when prices for specific individual goods increase significantly.

“Because of this, changes to the poverty thresholds, including how they are updated for inflation over time, may affect eligibility for programs that use the poverty guidelines,” OMB said in a notice published to the federal register.

A spokesman for OMB did not return a request for comment.

Read more: Lowest earners miss out as incomes and spending rise

The possible change appears to be the latest effort by the Trump administration to make it harder to access welfare programs. Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to more strictly enforce current work requirements for welfare recipients, and propose additional, more stringent requirements that could further reduce eligibility.

“Millions of able-bodied, working-age adults continue to collect food stamps without working or even looking for work,” Trump said in December. “Our goal is to move these Americans from dependence to independence, and into a good-paying job and rewarding career.”

This isn’t the first time a White House has considered using chained CPI to bring down the cost of government programs. President Barack Obama in 2014 proposed switching cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and other retirement programs to the index. Congressional Democrats responded with an uproar, causing Obama to abandon the proposal in later budgets.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...IiJ?li=BBnbfcN

You damn "welfare leeches" have not seen real poverty. Where are all those people who have starved to death in this nation from a lack of anything? I find it amusing when some leftist declares a household that has almost 2 of everything....cars, phones, tv's, cell phones...bathrooms.....etc., as being IMPOVISHERED. Take a trip to some socialist/communist nation if you want to see real poverty. Go visit Cuba or Venezuela...N. Korea...etc.,

[PoliTalker]

Screwing the poor is popular among the greedy rich.

[Stretch]

No big deal. These things have always got to be revised.

[Legion]

No big deal. These things have always got to be revised.

Maybe Shill Bill is afraid he won't be able to get a new i Phone, Ms. Stretch.

[Bill]

You damn "welfare leeches" have not seen real poverty. Where are all those people who have starved to death in this nation from a lack of anything? I find it amusing when some leftist declares a household that has almost 2 of everything....cars, phones, tv's, cell phones...bathrooms.....etc., as being IMPOVISHERED. Take a trip to some socialist/communist nation if you want to see real poverty. Go visit Cuba or Venezuela...N. Korea...etc.,

straight from the lips of the almighty..

Just reeks of compassion.

[Stretch]

straight from the lips of the almighty..

Just reeks of compassion.

Been going on for decades.

[Truth Detector]

More Americans forced on to the streets, make America great again

Most Americans living on the streets are in BLUE Democratically controlled States in Cities thanks to THEIR policies snowflake.

Turning people into dependent wards of the State is neither moral nor is it compassion. If anything, it is the exact opposite. Educating Americans to be self sufficient is compassionate and ethical.

[Truth Detector]

Screwing the poor is popular among the greedy rich.

That's a LIE and it is LAME; much like all of your moronic posts.

[Truth Detector]

Just reeks of compassion.

How is turning people into dependent wards of the state compassionate?

[cawacko]

I see large numbers of homeless people on a daily basis and it is not a pleasant site. I have no desire to see more and am for the government helping our neediest. But as with all government programs the devil is in the details. Just because a program claims to help poor people it doesn’t mean that it necessarily does.

There is value in work to one’s self. Promoting work for those who can is a good thing. Will be interesting to see more of the proposed changes

[Sailor]

More Americans forced on to the streets, make America great again


Justin Sink

The Trump administration may alter the way it determines the national poverty threshold, putting Americans living on the margins at risk of losing access to welfare programs.

The possible move would involve changing how inflation is calculated in the “official poverty measure,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits.

The measure, first set in the 1960s, is calculated at three times the cost of a minimum food diet and adjusted every year as prices rise. In 2018, a family of four making no more than $25,900 was considered impoverished. The figure determines eligibility for a wide swath of federal, state, and non-profit programs, including Medicaid and food stamps.

By changing the index the government uses to calculate how much the cost of living rises or falls, the poverty level could rise at a slower rate.

One proposal the Office of Management and Budget suggested in the filing is to shift to so-called chained CPI, which regularly shows a slower pace of price gains than traditional measures. Chained CPI shows slower inflation growth because it assumes consumers will substitute less expensive items when prices for specific individual goods increase significantly.

“Because of this, changes to the poverty thresholds, including how they are updated for inflation over time, may affect eligibility for programs that use the poverty guidelines,” OMB said in a notice published to the federal register.

A spokesman for OMB did not return a request for comment.

Read more: Lowest earners miss out as incomes and spending rise

The possible change appears to be the latest effort by the Trump administration to make it harder to access welfare programs. Last year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to more strictly enforce current work requirements for welfare recipients, and propose additional, more stringent requirements that could further reduce eligibility.

“Millions of able-bodied, working-age adults continue to collect food stamps without working or even looking for work,” Trump said in December. “Our goal is to move these Americans from dependence to independence, and into a good-paying job and rewarding career.”

This isn’t the first time a White House has considered using chained CPI to bring down the cost of government programs. President Barack Obama in 2014 proposed switching cost-of-living adjustments in Social Security and other retirement programs to the index. Congressional Democrats responded with an uproar, causing Obama to abandon the proposal in later budgets.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mark...IiJ?li=BBnbfcN

If only Obama had stood his ground.

[Bill]

Been going on for decades.

Probably has, but I hold out hope that posterior ralph can one day live up to his calling....

[Bill]

I see large numbers of homeless people on a daily basis and it is not a pleasant site. I have no desire to see more and am for the government helping our neediest. But as with all government programs the devil is in the details. Just because a program claims to help poor people it doesn’t mean that it necessarily does.

There is value in work to one’s self. Promoting work for those who can is a good thing. Will be interesting to see more of the proposed changes

I read recently that we now have 1/4 of the homeless in the country living in Calif..

Over 50,000 in LA alone...

[Bill]

If only Obama had stood his ground.

What ground is that?? This began long before Obama...