Cheryl Wetzstein: The poverty calculation stinks, experts say, because it uses an obsolete formula. It doesn't factor in taxes or modern expenses, nor does it count generous noncash "aid" given to poor people, like housing subsidies, health care subsidies or food stamps.
If poverty were measured using a new, reasonable formula, it would probably drop to 8 percent, maybe lower, says Douglas Besharov, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
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