Key findings
• While the official poverty rate has declined from 22 percent to 15 percent since 1959, most of this progress occurred before the early 1970s. Since then, the direct connection between poverty and economic growth has weakened.
• Some subgroups, like young adults and less-educated Americans, have fared worse than others, as poverty rates for these subgroups have risen over time. Others, such as the elderly, have fared much better than others.
• The Official Poverty Measure masks important progress that has been made in fighting poverty because it doesn’t count many of the antipoverty programs that have accounted for an increasing share of all safety net benefits in recent years.
• If the benefits from noncash programs like food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit are counted, the poverty rate would stand at about 11 percent today instead of 15.
• Poverty remains high primarily because the economy has failed the poor. The expanded safety net has kept poverty from being even higher than it is today