Abstract
The first official U.S. federal poverty line was developed in the 1960s; since the mid-1990s the scientific consensus has been that it has become outdated and inaccurate. This article explains the key elements of the current federal measure that are inaccurate for older adults in general and older Latinos specifically. An alternative is described that addresses the key failings of the current measure. The alternative, the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index (Elder Index), adapts a national methodology to the basic costs of living in California for 2007 using data from the American Community Survey, and other public data sources. The results show that the amount needed for basic economic security in California is higher than the federal poverty level in all counties, and averages about twice the federal level. Housing costs are the largest component of costs in most counties, although health care is the largest component for couples in lower housing cost counties. Among singles and couples age 65 and over in California, almost 60 % of Latinos have incomes below the Elder Index compared to one-quarter of non-Latino whites. The rates are higher among renters, and older Latinos are more likely than non-Latino whites to rent. Applying the Elder Index in California documents the disproportionate rates of economic insecurity among older Latinos. The findings indicate that changes to public programs such as Social Security and Medicare that decrease benefits or increase costs will have disproportionately negative impact on the ability of most older Latinos to pay for basic needs.
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Notes
There are two related official measures of poverty. The U.S. Census Bureau publishes Federal Poverty Thresholds each year that provide retrospective dollar amounts for families that vary by the number of non-elderly adults, older adults, and children. The Census version is used primarily for statistical purposes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services publishes Federal Poverty Guidelines each year that projects the poverty level for the coming year, which is used in program eligibility. It is a simplified, single amount that varies only by the number of people in the family. The unofficial term “Federal Poverty Level” or “Federal Poverty Line” (FPL) is usually used in the context of discussing program eligibility and therefore is best thought of as referring to the Guidelines. For a good summary and explanation see University of Wisconsin, Institute for Research on Poverty, http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq1.htm.
Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Riverside (CA), San Antonio, Chicago, Houston, El Paso, San Diego, McAllen (TX), Orange County (CA), Phoenix, Orlando, and Ft. Lauderdale. Data from the 2011 U.S. Census American Community Survey. (Ruggles et al. 2013)
Population weighted, so areas with larger populations are appropriately represented.
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Acknowledgments
Funding for this work was provided in part by The California Wellness Foundation. Wallace was also funded in part by the National Institute on Aging P30-AG021684 through funding provided to the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research. The content of this article does not necessarily represent the official views of The California Wellness Foundation, the NIA or the NIH.
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Wallace, S.P., Padilla-Frausto, D.I. & Smith, S.E. Economic Need among Older Latinos: Applying the Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index. J Cross Cult Gerontol 28, 239–250 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-013-9201-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-013-9201-x