Why is the government official poverty line of limited value in figuring out exactly how many poor people we have in the

USA? How do the problems with this poverty line hide the actual extent of poverty?

Read over the Extent of Poverty section, and look at table 7.1 . What factors cause more poverty and which factors cause

less? Use info from the text and table to illustrate.

What is the overall effect of all this on poverty in the United States compared to poverty in other countries like the

US?