In 1963, Mollie Orshansky took a grocery list, performed some simple arithmetic, and immortalized herself in American economics. She became “Miss Poverty.”
Forty-five years later, her grocery-list formula still is the official definition of poverty in America. Using Ms. Orshansky’s method,…
For 35 years, Martha Fowler’s life was anchored solidly in America’s middle class. She had a good job, earning $21 an hour with good benefits as an operator and technician for Western Union.
“I liked…
A complete census of the United States occurs once every decade, but waves of other data roll in during the off years, providing updated snapshots of who and where we are, what we’re doing and how we’re changing as a nation.
A…
