Question

When a law refers to "twice the poverty level", what does that mean?

Answer 1

The "Federal poverty level" is referring to a defined term within governmental legislation and regulations.

Explanation:

Let's first talk about what the term "poverty level" means.

First off, what we're working with is what is known as a "defined term". Let's say a government passes a series of laws intended to help people who need financial assistance in order to live life at a minimum standard (they have access to some sort of safe housing, have access to food and water, etc.).

One way to define who is eligible for these programs is to write into the laws that people who earn less than, say, $20,000 per year are eligible for help. This will work well for a little while, but over time inflation (the tendency of prices to increase) will cause prices on housing and water and food and all that to increase, meaning that people who earn less than say $25,000 per year will need help. When this happens, all of the laws need to be amended to reflect the increase in the "poverty line" or "poverty level".

A simpler way to handle this situation is to simply write into the laws that people who are at or below the "poverty line" or "poverty level" are eligible for assistance. The government sets up an office that tracks what the "poverty line" is (they measure inflation and the costs of goods and services) and so the law automatically can help everyone who needs help.

And so to the question - when a law refers to "twice the poverty level", it's simply saying that the law kicks in for those people who make less than twice the poverty level. So if the level is at $20,000, the law kicks in for anyone making less than $40,000.