The Nation - News from Dec. 28, 1988

The Census Bureau, in the most comprehensive calculations it has ever made on income and poverty, reported that 10.3% of Americans fell below the poverty line in 1986 rather than the government’s official figure of 13.6%. The difference reflected adjustment of official figures to take into account the impact of taxes, capital gains and non-cash income. The study also found that without government programs such as Social Security, welfare, Medicare and food stamps, the 10.3% poverty rate would be almost twice as high, reflecting the tremendous impact of the government “safety net.”