Opening Activity Identify… Old Light & New Light

Opening Activity

• Identify… Old Light & New Light

Who is Poor in America Today?

Learning About an Epidemic

Notes• Poverty: a state of living without enough resources to supply for the needs of

an individual or a family. • Poverty Guidelines: what the US Federal Government uses to determine who

is poor and what programs they are eligible for.• Extreme Poverty: making less than half of the amount listed in the poverty

guidelines.

1 $11,6702 15,7303 19,7904 23,8505 27,9106 31,9707 36,0308 40,090

Here in the United States, 46.2 million people are living in poverty.

That’s one out of every 7 Americans.

…and one out of every 5 children.

This presentation will review the facts about poverty and introduce some of the human faces behind the numbers.

Poverty Quiz: Question #1

True or False: If all the poor in the United States lived in the same state, it would be the largest state in the nation – the state of “Poverty, USA.”

TRUE

While the average rate of poverty in the U.S. is 15.1%, the people in some states see much more poverty than those who live in other parts of the country.

The state with the highest population is California, at 37 million. The number of people living in poverty in the United States is over 46 million.

Country Percent in Poverty United States 15.1Vietnam 11.3Russia 11Canada 9.1France 7.9Kazakhstan 5.3Ireland 5.5

Top 10 States with the Highest Poverty Rate, 2011

1. Mississippi 22.6%

2. New Mexico 21.5%

3. Louisiana 20.4%

4. Arkansas 19.5%

5. Kentucky 19.1%

6. Alabama 19.0%

7. South Carolina 18.9%

8. District of Columbia 18.7%

9. West Virginia 18.6%

10. Texas 18.5%

True or False: The number of people living in poverty in the United States decreased from 2009 to 2011.

FALSE


The number of poor people increased by 2.6 million from 2009 to 2011. 46.2 million people now live in poverty.

That means that one out of every seven Americans is living in poverty.

Between 2000-2011, the number of poor Americans grew by more than 14 million.

True or False: Most Americans could get out of poverty if they only had a job.

FALSE


Most poor Americans are too young, too old or physically incapable of working due to illness or disability.

In fact, over two-thirds of all Americans living in poverty have to depend on someone else in the household to bring in money to live.

And children are more likely than anyone to experience poverty.

True or False: One of every five children in America lives in poverty.

TRUE


In 2011, children represented 34.9 percent of the people in poverty in the U.S., but only 23.9 percent of the population.

In the year 2011, 16.1 million or about 1 out of 5 children lived in poverty. Children in America have higher poverty rates than in many industrialized nations.

True or False: Adults who have regular work, but remain poor – the "working poor” - are finding it more difficult to lift themselves out of poverty.

TRUE


The working poor in America grew poorer during 2010, with incomes dipping farther below the poverty line than in any other year in the new millennium.

Notes• Working Poor: Those with jobs who still fall below the poverty line. • Factors:

1. Type of job-2. Where one lives3. Ethnicity and background4. State of Economy

True or False: The government says that a family of four is poor if it earns at least $25,000 annually.

FALSE


The federal government puts the 2014 poverty line at $23,850 for a family of four with two children. However, researchers estimate that meeting basic needs for an average family of four would actually require about $46,000 annually.


True or False: The federal minimum wage is now $7.25 per hour.

TRUE

The federal minimum wage increased from $6.55/hr to $7.25/hr on July 24,

2009.

But for a mother who works full-time at minimum wage to support one small child, that translates to earnings of only $15,080 at $7.25/hr.

AZ minimum wage is $8.05/hr

$16,744 is one’s yearly earnings at state minimum wage…

True or False: In a 36 month period almost one out of every three Americans lives in poverty at least two months.

TRUE


Many Americans tread just above the poverty line every year; barely hanging on.

True or False. The majority of people living in poverty are white.

TRUE


The majority of people living in poverty today are white—19.2 million Americans.

However, this figure comprises 9.9 percent of the total white population.

By comparison the rate of poverty for African Americans in 2011 was 27.6%. That’s more than one out of four African Americans living in poverty.

For Hispanics, the poverty rate in 2011 was 25.3%.

True or False: While the number of people in poverty is increasing, the number of people in extreme poverty is decreasing.

FALSE


The number of people living in extreme poverty, those with incomes below half the poverty line, was 20.4 million in 2011.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD_DSYr7OyQ

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Opening Activity Identify… Old Light & New Light