Which, I think, was the point of quoting the figures.  The US Bureau of
Census (as well as the IRS) have very low levels for defining poverty.
Those levels (not surprisingly) change given political administrations
however, and they reflect political intent rather than the realities of
actually being able to live off of that much money.  If an administration
actually admitted that those levels were absurdly low they would have to
react appropriately - raise the minimum wage, deal with health insurance
and medical costs, etc.  That all costs money - a highly politicized
commodity indeed.

When I was in graduate school I managed to live off of $700/month in
Washington DC but I, as well as your friend, did nothing that wasn't free,
walked  to a great many places, ate cheaply, and purchased few material
objects.  As a short term (5-10 year) living style I could do it but longer
term would have gotten more difficult and tiresome.

----------
> From: Heidi Carroll <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Job Opening: Let Them Eat Cake
> Date: Wednesday, November 18, 1998 9:11 AM
>
> Ok, so please explain to me what the "poverty level" is.  What does one
> do and have that earns $7,547 per year?  I know an individual that made
> $14,000 per year.  He lived in a very inexpensive apartment, owned an
> old car that his father sold to him really cheap (more for the
> responsibility than the money), didn't go anywhere that required an
> expenditure of money, didn't do anything that wasn't free, didn't have
> cable, spent time after work reading book that he owned an had read
> several times before or riding his bicycle with friends.  And at the end
> of the month, after all of the bills were paid, had about $20 for
> groceries which consisted of bread, milk, and macaroni and cheese.  That
> sounds pretty impoverished to me.  When you cannot affort a healthy diet
> because you have to pay for the roof over your head, transportation to
> work to pay for everything, heat, electric, and water, I think is pretty
> impoverished.
> So how does one survive on half that, I'm curious.  This individual
> lived on almost twice the poverty level and had nothing and did nothing
> that was not necessary to fulfill the basic needs of food, shelter, and
> clothing (an transportation to work to pay for those things).  What do
> cut back when you have nothing?
>
> >
> >Poverty level in the United States according to U.S. Bureau of the
> Census
> >in 1996 is $7,547 for an individual, $15,141 for a family of four. A
> point
> >of reference.
> >
> >Best,
> >
> >Paul Apodaca
> >
>
>
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