No average income gain during Bush years

[swampy]

I found this article interesting

The federal government adopted the poverty guidelines in the 1960s and set them at roughly three times basic food costs. They now represent about five times food costs, Edelman said, but don’t factor in any direct way the costs of child care, commuting, energy, housing or health care. The poverty line, currently $22,050 for a family of four in the continental U.S., takes into account wages and welfare benefits paid in cash, but excludes housing vouchers, food stamps, child care subsidies and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

“We’re using a benchmark done in the sixties by one person who went to the grocery store,” said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) “Things have changed dramatically since that….We’re still using a measure that came on the scene about the same time as Bob Dylan.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27097.html