In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. Johnson wanted to lift the nation’s poor into a better life, via programs like food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid. But more than 60 years later, our country is still grappling with how to alleviate the challenges of poverty – including how we measure it. In this episode, Teo explains how the Federal Poverty Line is calculated and what it has to do with Jello. We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle. Sources in this episode: U.S. Census Bureau Timeline of Poverty Measure, 2014 How the U.S. Census Bureau Measures Poverty, 2022 What does living at the poverty line look like?, USA Facts, 2023 Poverty Guidelines vs Poverty Thresholds, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Line Matrix, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2026 Remembering Mollie Orshansky — The Developer of the Poverty Thresholds, Society Security Administration, 2008 Relatively Deprived, New Yorker, 2006 Mollie Orshansky, Statistician, Dies at 91, The New York Times, 2007 Mollie Orshansky: Inventor of the Poverty Line, NPR, 2007 Thrifty Food Plan, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021 Thrifty Food Plan: Better planning and accountability could help ensure quality of future reevaluations, U.S. Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters, 2022 Family Food Plans and Food Costs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962 The Indians in the Lobby, Season 3, Episode 8, The West Wing, 2001 NPR audience call out on SNAP benefits, 2025 Legacies of the War on Poverty, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political & Social Science, 2024 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
