Homework Assignment 2
E1. Explain how the official poverty rate was
established and how it is currently calculated in the
United States. Now discuss five shortcomings of the
official poverty measure. Are there alternative
measures of poverty that may be better? If so,
describe them.
Research:
R1. (6 Points) Prepare, for an adult living in Los
Angeles, a minimum needs budget, listing goods and
services, with estimated monthly costs, needed for a
single individual. Now, redo this budget for a family of
four (two adults and two children) living in Los
Angeles. Put your budgets in table form and provide
explanations for your estimates.
R2. (5 points) Does money bring happiness? This
question has been seriously addressed in scholarly
studies. It is briefly discussed in Chapter 1 of Schiller.
Read Schiller and then look for other studies on the
internet. Is there agreement on the relationship
between money and happiness? Provide a paragraph
describing the range of views and cite your sources.
Extra Credit: Find recent (2014 should be available)
poverty rates for:

Los Angeles

Chicago

Houston

New York

Detroit
Create your own table for the data. Indicate if the
rates are for the city or the metropolitan area.