Bryan Victor
July 23, 2016
In the United States, the federal government calculates an annual "poverty threshold" which is designed to estimate the annual household income needed to provide for a family's basic needs. Because more family members require more money to meet those needs, the poverty threshold is higher for families with more members. Here are the levels for 2016 based on household size:
The current app allows the user to determine their household income as a percentage of the poverty line. But why would anyone want this particular statistic? The reason is that many of the U.S. government's assistance programs determine eligibity based on a household's percentage of the poverty threshold. A fast calculation based on up to date figures, annual household income and household size is therefore important for quickly determining eligibility.
The core underlying function that drives this app is presented below:
percent_poverty <- function(household_size, household_income) {
if (household_size=="1") { y<-11880}
if (household_size=="2") { y<-16020}
if (household_size=="3") { y<-20160}
if (household_size=="4") { y<-24300}
if (household_size=="5") { y<-28440}
if (household_size=="6") { y<-32580}
if (household_size=="7") { y<-36730}
if (household_size=="8") { y<-40890}
if (household_size=="9") { y<-45050}
if (household_size=="10") { y<-49210}
prediction <- round(household_income / y * 100, digits = 0)
}
The user is provided with a clear percentage value after providing household size and household income:
