1985, China set the per capita annual net income of 200 yuan as the poverty line, and then adjusted it year by year according to the price index. Below the poverty line, an absolute poverty line with low income has been set. In 2007, the standard was adjusted to 1067 yuan. In 2008, the absolute poverty line in China was below 785 yuan per capita net income, and the low-income poverty line was 786 yuan per capita net income-1067 yuan. In 2009, it increased to 1 196 yuan. In fact, it is an indisputable fact that the poverty line in China is too low. The World Bank defines 1 USD per person per day as the minimum poverty line, but China is still far from this standard.
China's new poverty alleviation standard raises the poverty line to annual per capita income 1 196 yuan. By the end of 2005, there were 23.65 million poor people in rural areas of China who had not solved the problem of food and clothing. According to the international standard of per capita 1 USD, the total number of poor people in China ranks second in the world after Indian.
In fact, 1 196 yuan is an old standard. The state has issued relevant policies to raise the poverty line standard to per capita net income 1.500 yuan during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period. 20 1 1 As the first year of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, it is also the first year when the poverty line standard is officially raised. The existing poverty line standard is 25% higher than that in 2009 1 196 yuan. However, compared with the rising prices, the poverty line standard of 1500 yuan is still a little low.
1What can 500 yuan do? In a big city, you may only be able to book a table, buy a dress and buy an e-book, which only account for a fraction of the monthly expenditure of a considerable part of the family. However, many poor families have a total income of only 2-3 yuan, 1500 yuan a year, in order to maintain the minimum food and clothing for their families. In today's increasingly high food prices, even in remote rural areas, the price of rice is above 2-3 yuan/kg, and an adult's annual food ration expenditure may be 600-700 yuan. If other necessary living expenses are included, the poverty line standard of 1500 yuan is only enough for poor families. If prices continue to rise, I'm afraid life will become a problem. It is obviously imperative to raise the poverty line standard.
Whether the current poverty line standard is high or low, we might as well refer to the situation of our Asian neighbors. According to the information provided by the website of the Ministry of Commerce on March 2, the Vietnamese Prime Minister recently issued a decision to adjust the standards of poor households. The standard of poor households in Vietnam during the period of 20 1 1-20 15 is that the per capita annual income of poor rural households is below 4.8 million VND, that is, 15 1 yuan. In 20 10, the per capita GDP of Viet Nam was 1 162 USD, and that of China was 4,500 USD, a difference of more than four times. Why is the poverty line lower than Vietnam? There is no reason for China to maintain such a low poverty line in terms of comprehensive national strength, per capita GDP and per capita national income.
Considering the factors of rising prices, the poverty line standard should have a certain margin. At present, it should be more appropriate to raise the poverty line standard to 2500 yuan, and it should be linked to the price increase in the future. Prevent the rising prices from hurting the poorest families with the weakest tolerance. The local minimum living standard should also be raised accordingly. Although the annual increase is only 1000 yuan, it can make many poor families smell the long-lost meat, add some leeks and buy some new clothes and stationery for their children. If the government squeezes out more, the income of poor families will be greatly increased.
Of course, raising the poverty line standard is only the first step to help the poor. The most important thing for the government is to increase investment in medical care and education, expand the coverage of medical insurance and free education, reduce medical expenses and tuition fees, and reduce poverty caused by diseases. At the same time, we should use various poverty alleviation policies to help poor families get rid of poverty as much as possible. On June 23rd, 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services published the 2009 poverty guide in the Federal Register, and the new poverty guide took effect on the same day. Readers who have handled family migration know that applicants for family migration need to reach a certain minimum income level in order to provide sufficient economic security for the beneficiaries of immigration applications, and this minimum income level depends on the above poverty line standard. Let me briefly introduce the poverty line standard and the minimum income required for immigration application for your reference.
The poverty line standard is a standard for measuring the poverty level of Americans published by the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is mainly used by the government to decide who is eligible for some government welfare programs, such as the Start Program, the Food Stamp Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Energy Assistance Program for Low-income Families and the Children's Health Insurance Program. At the beginning of each year, the US Department of Health and Human Services obtains the poverty line standard for the new year according to the poverty level of the previous year, and publishes it in the Federal Gazette. The poverty line standard is determined according to the number of families and their state. The 48 states connected with the continental United States and Washington, D.C. serve as a standard, while Alaska and Hawaii have their own standards. Compared with the poverty line standard in 2008, the newly issued poverty line standard in 2009 has slightly improved. For example, in 2008, the poverty line standard of a two-person family connecting 48 states and DC was $65,438+$04,000, while in 2009, the poverty line standard was $65,438+$04,570, an increase of $570, and the poverty line standards of other different populations also increased similarly in 2009.
Readers who have handled family immigration know that family immigration applicants (American citizens or green card holders) need to fill out I-864 to provide financial guarantee for the beneficiaries, so as to ensure that foreigners who immigrate to the United States have sufficient financial support and will not become a burden to American society. Immigration requires applicants to prove that their income reaches or exceeds 125% of the poverty line standard. For example, for a two-person family (the spouse of an American citizen and a foreign immigrant), the poverty line of the federal government in 2009 was $65,438+$04,570 per year. To meet the minimum standard of economic guarantee required by the Immigration Bureau, the applicant's income should be no less than 125% of the poverty line standard, that is,18,212.5 USD. If the income of American citizens does not reach 125% of the poverty line standard, American citizens must provide guarantees through co-guarantors or through their assets (such as bank deposits). Brazil has two poverty lines: the poverty line and the extreme poverty line. These two poverty lines are determined according to the five-year consumption expenditure data, the food line is adjusted according to the food price index, and the poverty line is adjusted according to the general inflation index.
The extreme poverty line is 65438+ 0/4 of the current minimum wage. Because the minimum wage changes every year, so does the extreme poverty line.
The poverty line is determined according to the minimum wage 1/2. The current extreme poverty line is 1 16.25 reais and the poverty line is 232.50 reais. The poverty line is used for many projects. For example, conditional cash transfer payment items. In Brazil, the conditional cash transfer welfare system has had a great impact on reducing the poverty of the elderly. India's poverty line is based on 2,435 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2,095 calories per person per day in urban areas. According to the data of the 28th National Sampling Survey (NSS) (1973-74), an appropriate conversion coefficient is conducive to converting the food list consuming standard calories into the corresponding per capita monetary expenditure. 1973-74, the average person in rural areas got 2400 calories per day, and the monthly monetary expenditure was 49.09 rupees, while the urban 2 100 calories needed 56.64 rupees. By 2000, due to inflation, the poverty lines in rural areas and cities were 328 rupees and 454 rupees respectively.