Sheldon Danziger spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer about updated poverty data and social welfare programs.
According to a supplemental poverty measure released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday, the number of children in poverty in 2010 is lower than what was reported in September. Using the traditional method of calculating poverty, 22.5 percent of children under 18 were in poverty but using a new type of measurement, that number drops to 18 percent.
According to the article's author, this new method is less of a blanket calculation and instead takes into account factors such as food stamps, earned-income-tax credits, school meals, and out of pocket expenses such as health care and child care.
U.S. investment in antipoverty programs is making a difference Danziger told Philly.com. "This report shows that spending more on food stamps does have an effect," Danziger said.