The official poverty rate, based on the 1963 cost of food, is a fiction. The United Way, in its Alice report, calculated the true cost of necessities and found that 41 percent of New Jersey children live in households that cannot afford the expenses of a no-frills lifestyle.
Alicia Quetel might be surprised to learn that she and her children aren’t poor, at least according to the federal government. Because it sure feels that way to her.
And when you listen to her story and multiply it by millions, you can’t help but conclude that we are not facing the truth about poverty in this country, that the federal measure is a farce, and that our dealings with decent Workers like her is a complete disgrace.
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