Food stamps and tax aid kept poverty rate in check, By Sam Roberts, March 20, 2011, New York Times: “Without a flood of food stamps and tax benefits for low-income families, about 250,000 more New Yorkers would have slipped into poverty at the height of the recession, according to calculations to be released Monday by city officials. As it was, while the federal poverty rate for the city remained about the same from 2008 to 2009, 17.3 percent, by a measure developed by the city it rose to 19.9 percent. The city takes into account factors the federal standard does not – higher local costs of living and expenses for health care, commuting and day care, or the value of benefits like food stamps, housing allowances and tax credits that can supplement cash income…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty