Can family stability exist without financial stability? See Figure8.3 on page 214 in the textbook for a sample budget chart,which outlines sources of income and expenses. In some ways,this information can help inform your response.

214 CHAPTER 8: WORK, FAMILY ROLES, AND MATERIAL RESOURCES between buying medicine or groceries or paying the rent. Income Wages, salaries Interest, dividends Other (child support, etc.) Total Expenses Housing Loans (car, furniture, etc.) Insurance premiums (health, life, car) Child support Emergency fund Savings Total fixed Utilities Gas/electric Water/sewer/garbage Cable Phone (land, cell) Internet Car (maintenance, operating) Child care Food Entertainment/recreation Personal (hair, spa, hobbies, gym) Gifts Charitable Work (professional/union dues, uniforms, parking) Medical Credit card payment Total variable Measuring Poverty Whether a family is considered in poverty is deter- mined by two measures. One is the poverty threshold, which is used for gathering statistical information such as what percentage of people live in poverty. The poverty level was originally in- tended to establish the household income that a family required to afford basic necessities. The first threshold was tied to the spending of the average American family in 1955, starting with the propor- tion of the budget spent on food. In 1964, the pov- erty threshold was adjusted because of a rise in food costs, and it has been adjusted for inflation every year since. Critics of current poverty measures argue that the costs of many necessities have outpaced infla- tion and that many of the common expenses fami- lies incur today were not part of family life in 1955. Although food prices have risen since 1955 at prac- tically the same rate as inflation, food today ac- counts for barely one-sixth of the average family budget, rather than the one-third of the budget on which the original poverty threshold was based. In the following example, the MIT Living Wage Calcu- lator is used to estimate the costs of meeting basic needs for a family of four, both adults working full- time, raising two children ages 4 and 7, living in a medium-sized town in the midwest: FIGURE 8.3 A Sample Budget BASIC NEEDS MONTHLY COSTS Housing $703 Poverty and Family Life Food $742 Child care $763 Health care $560 Transportation $963 Other $432 Taxes $521 Nearly 47 million Americans, or almost 15% of the population, live in povertythe highest it has been since 1983. This is an increase of 15 million from 2000 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2016). About 22% of children and 9% of people age 65 and older live in poverty. The poverty threshold differs by size and makeup of a household and is adjusted annually for inflation. Breaking it down among ethnic groups, the approximate poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites is 13%; for blacks, 26%; for Asian/Pacific Is- landers, 11.5%; and for Hispanics, 24% (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2016). For these families, daily life is a struggle merely to pay rent and to buy groceries. Of- tentimes, poor families are forced to make choices Monthly total $4,684 Annual total $56,208 Note that amounts for housing, child care, food, and medical are modest; compare them to estimates for rent and child care given earlier in this chapter. 214 CHAPTER 8: WORK, FAMILY ROLES, AND MATERIAL RESOURCES between buying medicine or groceries or paying the rent. Income Wages, salaries Interest, dividends Other (child support, etc.) Total Expenses Housing Loans (car, furniture, etc.) Insurance premiums (health, life, car) Child support Emergency fund Savings Total fixed Utilities Gas/electric Water/sewer/garbage Cable Phone (land, cell) Internet Car (maintenance, operating) Child care Food Entertainment/recreation Personal (hair, spa, hobbies, gym) Gifts Charitable Work (professional/union dues, uniforms, parking) Medical Credit card payment Total variable Measuring Poverty Whether a family is considered in poverty is deter- mined by two measures. One is the poverty threshold, which is used for gathering statistical information such as what percentage of people live in poverty. The poverty level was originally in- tended to establish the household income that a family required to afford basic necessities. The first threshold was tied to the spending of the average American family in 1955, starting with the propor- tion of the budget spent on food. In 1964, the pov- erty threshold was adjusted because of a rise in food costs, and it has been adjusted for inflation every year since. Critics of current poverty measures argue that the costs of many necessities have outpaced infla- tion and that many of the common expenses fami- lies incur today were not part of family life in 1955. Although food prices have risen since 1955 at prac- tically the same rate as inflation, food today ac- counts for barely one-sixth of the average family budget, rather than the one-third of the budget on which the original poverty threshold was based. In the following example, the MIT Living Wage Calcu- lator is used to estimate the costs of meeting basic needs for a family of four, both adults working full- time, raising two children ages 4 and 7, living in a medium-sized town in the midwest: FIGURE 8.3 A Sample Budget BASIC NEEDS MONTHLY COSTS Housing $703 Poverty and Family Life Food $742 Child care $763 Health care $560 Transportation $963 Other $432 Taxes $521 Nearly 47 million Americans, or almost 15% of the population, live in povertythe highest it has been since 1983. This is an increase of 15 million from 2000 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2016). About 22% of children and 9% of people age 65 and older live in poverty. The poverty threshold differs by size and makeup of a household and is adjusted annually for inflation. Breaking it down among ethnic groups, the approximate poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites is 13%; for blacks, 26%; for Asian/Pacific Is- landers, 11.5%; and for Hispanics, 24% (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2016). For these families, daily life is a struggle merely to pay rent and to buy groceries. Of- tentimes, poor families are forced to make choices Monthly total $4,684 Annual total $56,208 Note that amounts for housing, child care, food, and medical are modest; compare them to estimates for rent and child care given earlier in this chapter