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Did 6.5 million Americans move above the poverty line between 2016 and 2019?

Wednesday, December 16, 2020
By Christopher Hutton
NO

According to Census Bureau data released in September 2020, the poverty rate in the U.S. decreased to 12.7% in 2019 from 10.5% in 2016. That means 6.6 million fewer people were in poverty in 2019 than three years before.

The bureau defined the poverty threshold for a single person under 65 as $13,300 in annual income, and for a family of four as $26,172.

In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic, with shutdowns and joblessness, undermined those gains. The extent of the setback could be further aggravated if Congress doesn't extend relief measures expiring at yearend. A Columbia University research group says the expiry of the provisions enacted earlier in the year could push 4.8 million more Americans into poverty in January 2021.

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