What Amount Of Money Equals Poverty?

As government's continue down the road of austerity one has to ask the question when does one reach poverty and are people able to survive and government social services?

 Recently the U.S. Census Bureau released figures showing how many American's our living in poverty

. The number of people living in poverty in America rose by nearly 4 million to 43.6 million in 2009 — the largest figure in the 51 years for which poverty estimates are available — the Census Bureau said Thursday.The bureau said in a statement that the official poverty rate was 14.3 percent, or 1 in 7 of Americans, the highest proportion of the population since 1994.It was the third consecutive annual increase, up from 39.8 million, or 13.2 percent, in 2008.
The bureau added that there were 8.8 million families living in poverty in 2009.The poverty rate for under-18s rose from 19.0 percent in 2008 to 20.7 percent in 2009, but fewer people 65 and older were in poverty, with the percentage rate falling from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 8.9 percent in 2009.

In Greece the government has introduced severe austerity measures which have driven the unemployment rate higher and its beloved will continue the Greek recession for at least two more years.

  Another day, another day of mayhem in the financial markets.Shares across Europe are taking a thumping, the euro is again under severe downward pressure on the foreign exchanges, investors are once again fleeing to the safe havens of gold and the dollar.
The economic news is not universally weak, with a pickup in vehicle sales in the US suggesting that consumer demand in the world's biggest economy is holding up relatively well. The price of Brent crude looks set to fall below $100 a barrel, reducing the costs of doing business and boosting real incomes. Even so, it's hard to argue with Michael Derks, chief strategist of FxPro, when he says markets are in a "vortex of fear".

Can you really live on 42p a day? India needs to know the answer

That's a damn good question the Indian government seems to think its possible. What one might possibly buy for 42pence is beyond me.

Some days, he confided, he made up to 200 to 250 rupees (£3.30) in straight profit and while he regularly sent money back home to his parents in the state of Uttar Pradesh, he did not yet have a wife or family to support. His rented room was located in what many would term a slum, but twice a week he could afford to eat more than just vegetables. "But I don't consider myself a poor man because I have enough to make ends meet," he said.
For millions of Indians, Mr Naresh would be considered comfortably off. But what exactly does it mean to be poor here? The Indian government has sparked an increasingly vexed debate by trying to fix the official poverty line at just 32 rupees (42 pence) a person per day in cities, and 26 rupees a day in rural areas. While remarkably low, this figure marked an increase on an earlier proposal by the government.

Prahalad Singh, an activist and academic from the city of Jaipur, said that despite so many people being affected by poverty, most educated and middle-class Indians failed to be moved by the issue. "People are shocked but they don't want to do anything about it," he said. "There has been this recent campaign against corruption because that strikes a chord, but for doing away with poverty there is no such thing."

Belatedly, the government has had to backtrack on its proposal. Yesterday, Mr Ahluwalia and the Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh, said that a new economic survey was currently underway, using a variety of measures, and that this would be used to decide who was eligible for subsidies.

The new Food Security Bill due to be introduced later this year will also extend the number of those eligible for help. "The allegation is being made that the... commission is trying to understate poverty," said Mr Ahluwalia. "This is simply not true."

The cost of living

26 Rupees (34 pence) a day – the poverty line recommended by the government for rural areas
29 Rupees (38 pence) – the cost of a litre of milk

32 Rupees (42 pence) – the suggested poverty line for cities
67 Rupees (88 pence) – the price of a litre of petrol

43,479 Rupees (£572) per year – the per capita income for 2009-10, according to Indian government figures