#487: The Trouble With The Poverty Line




Planet Money show

Summary: According to the government, there are 46.5 million Americans who live below the poverty line. In other words, that's how many people are officially poor. But pretty much everyone who studies poverty agrees: The way we arrive at this figure is completely wrong. On today's show, we figure out how we got here, why still measure poverty in a way that so many people agree is wrong, and how could we do it better.