Index the official federal poverty line to the real poverty line

The official federal poverty line was based, in 1965 (or 1968), on three times the price of an emergency diet (dried beans only; no canned); about $5/day X 3 = $18,000/yr for a family of three. This was based on a 1955 study which in 1965 was not yet too far off the true mark.

I used the numbers in the MS Foundations book "Raise the Floor", table 2-3 on page 44 to come up with a minimum needs figure also based on $5/day for food but plus everything else from telephone to income tax and it came to $42,000/yr (2008 dollars) for a family of 3 -- not $18,000/yr ...

... which looking at the US Census family income charts put American poverty at 37% not 12.5% if all these families had to pay for their own medical insurance -- 26% if they all had paid for medical -- likely about 30% if I knew who had paid medical and who didn't.

I propose that some one or some organization set up a year by year index of the ratio between the official poverty line and a real minimum needs line like I derived from MS' chart. Then when some economically unenlightened essayist wants to complain that poverty has (only) stayed the same since LBJ they can easily check and see that LJB's 12.5% might have been an adjusted 15% in 1968 -- compared to today's adjusted 30% -- that poverty may have doubled since LBJ ...

... while average income doubled ...

... especially if you have been getting people used to the stagnation of median income and the 30% drop in minimum wage ...

... while average income doubled.

http://www.amazon.com/Raise-Floor-Wages-Policies-That/dp/0896086836/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340721563&sr=8-1&keywords=RAISE+THE+FLOOR

http://ontodayspage.blogspot.com/2008/02/are-38-of-american-families-living.html