Sherdan, William A.The Fortune Sellers: The Big Busi-
ness of Buying and Selling Predictions.New York:
John Wiley & Sons, 1998.
Margaret Boe Birns
See also Advertising; Business and the economy in
the United States; Jewish Americans; Religion and
spirituality in the United States.
Poverty
Definition A relative measure of income below a
certain threshold
In the 1990’s, Canada based its response to national pov-
erty on a tax-transfer system that stabilized national pov-
erty rates. The U.S. government relied on a distributive sys-
tem that widened the inequality chasm between the wealthy
and the poor.
Economically, both countries shared common expe-
riences during the 1990’s. At the beginning of the
decade, both countries suffered through an eco-
nomic recession. By the end of the 1990’s, Canada
and the United States had increased trade with
other nations. Technological advancements cata-
pulted both countries beyond their expectations.
The definition of poverty was adjusted periodically
to include such quantifiable and qualitative vari-
ables as social exclusion, economic growth rates,
family composition, and access to jobs. U.S. and Ca-
nadian leaders supported some level of devolution—
a shift of political and economic responsibilities
from the national government to the individual
states. Their policies, particularly regarding those
living below the national poverty lines, had both sim-
ilar and differing impacts on their citizens.
Canadian Policies for the Poor As Canada’s na-
tional income increased, so did the salaries and
wages of its citizens, yet these financial and social
gains did not eradicate poverty. Canada relied on a
statistical formula called low-income cut-off (LICO)
to determine level of poverty and need for govern-
mental support. This formula was very popular
among the Canadian public and officials at all levels
of government. It linked the percentage that an av-
erage Canadian household spent on basic necessi-
ties to the amount that a person currently earned
and qualified to receive in government subsidies.
The median income, however, remained stagnant
throughout the decade. An increasing number of
Canadians who were once part of the middle class
were falling behind the national income average.
The LICO standard for assistance was established
too low to assist working-class families who were
once part of the middle class. Poverty increased
throughout all major cities and rural provinces, par-
ticularly among women, single-parent households,
children, racial minorities, and laborers.
It was estimated that those living in poverty would
need to work seventy-three hours more hours weekly
in order to overcome poverty. Women were more
likely than men to live below the poverty line, espe-
cially those who were mothers of children less than
seven years of age. Child mortality rates among
poorer families were twice the amount of those born
to middle- and upper-class families. Furthermore,
these children were more likely to have lower birth
weights and to die from childhood injuries. They
were much more likely to suffer from psychiatric
and/or learning disabilities than were other chil-
dren. Racial minorities were more likely to live in
poverty than were Caucasians. The longer they re-
mained in poverty, the more likely they were to re-
main in it and remain dependent on governmental
subsidies. The only escape existed through obtain-
ing additional education. Similar situations existed
in the United States.U.S. Response to National Poverty Though the
United States remained the wealthiest country in
the world and its antipoverty programs alleviated
many social problems, it had the highest level of pov-
erty among all industrialized nations. In 1990-1991,
a recession occurred and slowed growth. These eco-
nomic problems caused many Americans to support
Arkansas governor Bill Clinton’s economic and wel-
fare reform plans in his bid for the presidency in- Later in the decade, the United States ex-
panded economic opportunities, advanced social
policies, and increased foreign trade. Welfare re-
form, tax relief for the poor, earned-income tax
credits, and educational opportunities were several
programs created to decrease poverty in the United
States. These measures increased aftertax income
among all Americans during the remainder of the
decade.
The same variables that contributed to poverty in
Canada existed in the United States. Persons who
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