Poverty in the US.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau report "Poverty in the U.S.: 2002" there has been an increase of 1.7 million people living in poverty from 2001 to 2002. This means that 12.1 percent of our population lived in poverty in 2002. Also in 2002, 9.6 percent of American families are lived in poverty, which also increased by from 2001. Although these statistics show the poverty level in America, it is very hard to classify who lives in poverty. The statistics are not based on assessments of living quarters but on a food budget. In fact, in some extreme cases those who are classified as living in poverty own houses worth over $300,000. This is because the food budget is based on family income, not what has been acquired by other means.

I was very surprised to learn that people living in poverty could have houses worth more than my own.

English: A homeless man in New York with the Ameri...

English: Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 ...

English: Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2008. Unite...

It seems as if the government is not assessing those in poverty in the right manner. I think it is unfair to give government funding to those who are living in houses that could easily provide enough money for that family to have a stable and comfortable living situation and bring them out of poverty. It is because of individual circumstances like these that we will never know the true extent of poverty numbers in our country.