Chart: Role of safety nets in poverty, 2011 (millions of people affected)

Table 1

Role of safety nets in poverty, 2011 (millions of people affected)

	All people	Children under age 18	Age 18–64	Age 65 and older
SNAP (food stamps)*	3.9	1.7	1.9	0.3
Federal Earned Income Tax Credit*	5.7	3.1	2.6	–
Unemployment insurance benefits**	2.3	0.6	1.6	0.1
Social Security income**	21.4	1.1	5.8	14.5

*This row shows how many people now below the poverty line would be above the poverty line if SNAP and the EITC were counted in the Census definition of money income used to calculate the poverty rate.

**This row shows how many people now not in poverty would fall below the poverty line if unemployment insurance and Social Security benefits were not included in the Census definition of money income used to calculate the poverty rate.

Source: Authors' analysis of Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage: 2011 Powerpoint

This chart appears in:

Already more than a lost decade: Poverty and income trends continue to paint a bleak picture

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