What is the number of people who are below the poverty level with a high school diploma, but no college experience? What is the number of people who are below the poverty level with a bachelors degree or higher?
The U.S. CensusLinks to an external site. Bureaus Web site has a variety of statistics and information about poverty in the United States. Go to the site at http://www.census.govLinks to an external site. and explore.
Exercise 1
From the home page of the Web site, enter Poverty in the search box. Several options will appear in a list. Scroll down until you see this option and then click on it: Poverty in the United States: 2021
Then, scroll down and click on Table A-1:
An Excel file will be downloaded. Locate the file and open it.Referring to the section of the table for 2021, scroll down until you see the heading Education Attainment.What is the number of people who are below the poverty level with a high school diploma, but no college experience?
What is the number of people who are below the poverty level with a bachelors degree or higher?
Does this data imply that a college education reduces the likelihood that a persons income will fall below the poverty level?
Feel free to explore other data in the table
One reason to study public policy and policy analysis is to help evaluate what political candidates, and others who comment on policy issues, are saying about a particular problem or policy alternative. For this exercise, you will assume the role of a member of Congress.Exercise 2
Referencing data from the poverty exercise, write a 1 – 3 page opinion expressing your beliefs about how seniors age 65 and older who are receiving social security benefits may, or may not, help to keep these seniors out of poverty. Assume your colleagues in Congress should know what your position is regarding any linkage between social security and poverty.
In your written opinion, you must reference one resource supporting your position. Online or print sources are equally useful. For example, you could Google is there a connection between social security and poverty to find some online info. Include a quote in your written opinion from the resource youve chosen and be sure and list the actual reference. Dont concern yourself with a specific type of resource citation. Just tell me what you used.
you may use paragraph-style and write it out. Paper: no cover page, 1 – 3 pages including any necessary attachments, double-spaced where appropriate, 1 margins, 12 point font, a reference page is not necessary (but see above for clarification).
