Quoted: Dr. Robert Haveman said the government could be overestimating the number of people in poverty.
If the government included non-cash benefits, such as food and rent assistance, and made some allowance for non-cash assets, such as property and cars, some people below the poverty line now would find themselves above it, the UW-Madison professor of economics and public affairs said.
But just as important as setting the poverty line is deciding whether poverty is relative or absolute, Haveman said.