Late every January – as reliable as the buzzards returning to Hinckley, Ohio each March – the revised Poverty Guidelines are published in the Federal Register…until Donald J. Trump became President.
As noted in the article below, the Trump administration pulled a couple of dozen of items (most very routine) from today’s Federal Register. The guidelines were among the items yanked.
http://thehill.com/regulation/315839-trump-administration-withdraws-23-rules-from-federal-register
Oh, due to low inflation the numbers were not going to change much. (I’m guessing the 100% poverty level for a family of four was going to climb from $24,300 in 2016 to about $24,360 this year.) But they are going to increase. Remember, government programs from food stamps to rural home loans utilize the guidelines. And, many non-profits, such as food pantries, update their criteria based on the federal numbers.
Of course, we should not be surprised that the Trump Administration would interfere in such a mundane automatic function of the federal bureaucracy. You see, the 2017 Poverty Guidelines will become facts when they’re issued. Only the President gets to create facts. Or, more correct, what he considers facts.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member
No wonder 1984 and It Can Happen Here are experiencing a tidal wave of new popularity. War is Peace. The Truth is a Lie. Lies are the Truth. Sickness is Health. Health is Sickness. The Poor are Wealthy. The Wealthy are Poor. We have embarked on a dangerous and surreal journey.