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Poverty in New Mexico is not what it used to be. And this year's "Kids Count" report, published by New Mexico Voices for Children, says the government formula that defines poverty is no longer accurate and hasn't been updated in half a century.
The study looks at how much it costs families just to survive in different communities across the state. Lisa Adams-Shafer with New Mexico Voices says, in general, families in the state need to earn at least twice the federal poverty level amount to live healthy and safe lives. Adams-Shafer says part of the problem with the federal poverty level formula is that it was designed at a time when a family's major expense was food. But things have changed.
ADAMS-SHAFER: "These days it constitutes a much smaller share of a family's budget. Also, back then there weren't as many women in the workforce as there are now. And so, childcare is a cost that families worry about."
Adams-Shafer says another shortcoming of the federal poverty measure is that it doesn't take in to account regional differences in costs of living.
Some Republicans have opposed recent efforts to update the federal poverty formula, charging that it would qualify too many people as being poor and guarantee that poverty is never eliminated. Others say failing to update the formula has driven down the standard of living for many low- and middle-income families.
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