Yes, good point, smcc. The Census Bureau counts all income except for capital gains and noncash benefits such as food stamps. The poverty threshold is just under $22K for a family of four, and just under $12K for an individual.

And simply having a job at all is something to appreciate in times like these; let's hope the employment situation turns around in the near future.

You know Ms. Tomkins, I saw a report on the Nightly News about this. Correct me but they were saying that a family of four with a taxable income of $21K or less qualifies as being within the Poverty Level. That's a little over $10 an hour. They also said that if the extension of Unemployment compensation had failed that 7 million people would have been added to the then current 44 million already in that position.

For all the people who gripe about their current job from time to time, this is a sober reminder of just how bad things can get if you have no job.......

Re:
https://www.financeglobe.com/Finance/Articles/articles/435/0/2009-Poverty-Rate-Highest-in-15-Years/Page0.html