2010 Poverty Guidelines

[MatthewKMC 0]

Where can I find what the new guideliness are? Since this is now March .

[Otto 83]

Where can I find what the new guideliness are? Since this is now March .

Doesn't appear they are published yet.

[john_and_marlene 162]

They had better look very much like the 2009 guidelines. I got a notice from the military retirment pay center that there would not be a cost of living adjustment this year because the cost of living had not gone up. If that's true, then the guidelines should also remain unchanged.

[MatthewKMC 0]

Still no idea of a release date?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Still nothing official, but the unofficial comments seem to be that they will be unchanged. We should be hearing soon, i would think.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I agree with the other posters. It would be hard for the government to justify raising the poverty guidelines, in view of the fact that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell last year for the first time since 1955. Many government entitlements, including Social Security, base their annual increases on the CPI. As a result, there were no increases in these entitlements this year.

I still chuckle every time I hear that the CPI fell last year. With the notable exception of my mortgage payment, every single bill that arrives in my mailbox is higher now than it was a year ago - in some cases, a LOT higher. I keep getting notices in the mail from utility and service companies about upcoming rate increases they've applied for. I realize that in hard economic times they have fewer paying customers, but I'm beginning to think they determine their rates by dividing the total revenues they want to make by the number of customers who actually pay their bills.

[bwelty 0]

Oh god i hope they don't get raised. I make above the 125% but not by much.

[sachinky 465]

When should we have the final word? So we're basically looking at the 2009 guidelines? $18,212 for two person household?

My husband just started a new job and we're planning on a new I-864 for the interview.

[SunDrop 59]

Still nothing official, but the unofficial comments seem to be that they will be unchanged. We should be hearing soon, i would think.

This would make sense. If the levels fell for the first time since they were introduced, a lot of people who currently qualify for assistance would lose it. Not a wise political move! You can't raise a poverty line if more people have fallen under the existing level.