The picture the new data paint becomes still brighter in certain respects when a broader measure of poverty favored by many analysts is used. The broader measure includes the Earned Income Tax Credit and government non-cash benefits such as food stamps and housing subsidies and nets out income and payroll taxes. Under the broader measure, the child poverty rate for 1999 fell below its 1979 level. The year 1979 is the first year for which this more-comprehensive poverty measure is available. Areas of Concern Amidst this positive news, some areas of concern emerge from the Census data.
Poverty rates remain high for certain groups of children and families.
International comparisons also indicate that the overall child poverty rate in the United States remains higher than the rate in many western European countries and Canada. Also troublesome are Census data showing that while the number of poor Americans has fallen markedly in recent years, those who remain poor have, on average, grown poorer. Using the broader measure of poverty that includes non-cash benefits and the EITC and subtracts income and payroll taxes, the average poor person fell farther below the poverty line in 1999 than in any year since 1979, the first year for which these data are available. The finding that those who remained poor have grown poorer in recent years also applies to children. The average poor child fell farther below the poverty line in 1998 and 1999 than in any year since 1979, the first year for which these data are available.