Family Budget Calculator

EPI's Family Budget Calculator measures the revenue needed to achieve a moderate family but appropriate living standard. In the budget, community-specific costs of 10 family types (1 to 2 adults, 0 to 4 children) are estimated in all counties and the metropolitan area of ​​the United States. Compared to the Federal poverty line and complementary anti-poverty measures, EPI's household budget provides a more accurate and complete measure of US economic safety.

The Family Budget Calculator takes into account the geographic differences in living expenses, including a detailed local level estimate of food, transportation expenses and other expenses that previously only got state or country data It is included. In order to keep the budget moderate, the calculator does not include part of expenses normally associated with middle class lifestyles, such as student loan repayment or college retirement or retirement. "According to EPI's senior economist, Elise Gould, in a statement," Family budget calculations are beyond traditional methods such as poverty line, and details of families' demands are stated. " "The most important thing for policy makers is to promote ways to raise wages and make cheaper communities."

EPI's Family Budget Calculator measures the revenue needed to achieve a moderate family but appropriate living standard. In the budget, community-specific costs of 10 family types (1 to 2 adults, 0 to 4 children) are estimated in all counties and the metropolitan area of ​​the United States. Compared to the Federal poverty line and complementary anti-poverty measures, EPI's household budget provides a more accurate and complete measure of US economic safety.

Federal poverty guidelines are normative rather than descriptive but are used to judge the eligibility of many public programs subject to economic investigation. The Family Budget Calculator of the Economic Policy Research Institute estimates that all households need to earn more than twice the federal poverty line 21 Table 3 shows that poverty in the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 48 consecutive states It shows a guide. Given that the percentage of incomes above the discretion of the poverty line has used median income as a benchmark over time, the poverty line adjusted annually based on the change in the consumer price index is relative to the median income Thing. As shown in Table 6,

According to an analysis of alternative anti-poverty measures by the Brookings Institute Hamilton program, the household budget method often results in a poverty threshold that is about twice the official poverty level. EPI does not calculate the poverty line of the state. However, considering the local data used to calculate the think-tank's family budget, the four-member family is likely to be calm in most urban areas, but to achieve a reasonable standard of living, the federal poverty annual income standard about $ 24,000 We need at least 3 times of that.