Homework Assignment 2

Homework Assignment 2 E1. Explain how the official poverty rate was established and how it is currently calculated in the United States. Now discuss five shortcomings of the official poverty measure. Are there alternative measures of poverty that may be better? If so, describe them. Research: R1. (6 Points) Prepare, for an adult living in Los Angeles, a minimum needs budget, listing goods and services, with estimated monthly costs, needed for a single individual. Now, redo this budget for a family of four (two adults and two children) living in Los Angeles. Put your budgets in table form and provide explanations for your estimates. R2. (5 points) Does money bring happiness? This question has been seriously addressed in scholarly studies. It is briefly discussed in Chapter 1 of Schiller. Read Schiller and then look for other studies on the internet. Is there agreement on the relationship between money and happiness? Provide a paragraph describing the range of views and cite your sources. Extra Credit: Find recent (2014 should be available) poverty rates for: Los Angeles Chicago Houston New York Detroit Create your own table for the data. Indicate if the rates are for the city or the metropolitan area.