Poverty
The poverty line threshold of $1.90 per day, as set by the World Bank, is controversial. Each nation has its own threshold for absolute poverty line; in the United States, for example, the absolute poverty line was US$15.15 per day in 2010 (US$22,000 per year for a family of four), while in India it was US$1.0 per day and in China the absolute poverty line was US$0.55 per day, each on PPP basis in 2010. These different poverty lines make data comparison between each nation's official reports qualitatively difficult. Some scholars argue that the World Bank method sets the bar too high, others argue it is low. Still others suggest that poverty line misleads as it measures everyone below the poverty line the same, when in reality someone living on $1.20 per day is in a different state of poverty than someone living on $0.20 per day. In other words, the depth and intensity of poverty varies across the world and in any regional populations, and $1.25 per day poverty line and head counts are inadequate measures.
Causes of poverty
Unemployment is the leading cause of poverty within the US. In 1999 and 2005, 71 percent of the families that were below the poverty line did not have any working family members. Among the families below the poverty line that had at least one family member working, low wages and insufficient benefits were also leading causes. In California, poverty in the elderly was reduced with the creation of the social security program. The poverty rate among seniors in the United States is at 9 percent . In 1960 the official poverty rate among the elderly was 35 percent. The Netherlands offers a universal pension and leads the world with a 1.7 percent poverty rate among the elderly. Extreme poverty may affect lifespan, and the lack of money via some type of pension system increases the poverty rate among the elderly worldwide. Issues like hunger, illness and thirst are all causes and effects of poverty.