William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

WHAT DO

THE FACTS

S AY?

Poverty and income inequality 581

Poverty Rates by Age

Children today are in poverty at nearly twice the rate of the elderly, whereas 50 years

ago the poverty rate among the elderly was twice that of children. What changes

in social policies in the past 80 years could help explain this change? What do the

facts say?

10

0

20

30

40

50%

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2017

65 and older

Under 18

Recessions

18 to 64

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data

points are placed at the midpoints of the respective years. Data for people aged 18 to 64 and aged 65 and

older are not available from 1960 to 1965. For information on recessions, see p. 25 of source. For information

on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-

surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar17.pdf.

Source: Jessica L. Semega, Kayla

R. Fontenot, and Melissa A. Kollar,

“Income and Poverty in the United

States: 2017,” September 2018, U.S.

Census, Figure 6, p. 15.

• The white shaded areas show economic recessions, when economic activity shrinks.
  What do you notice about the poverty rate in those years?


• What are the most important things that the government can do to address poverty?


• Would it be better to leave support for the social safety net up to private charities and
  more personal funding of health care and retirement benefits? Why or why not?

Think about it

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