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Relative poverty in San Francisco

Jonny Clark

10th July 2018

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Here's an interesting article from the BBC for anyone wishing to illustrate the concept of relative poverty. The article, which highlights a report from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, discusses how families based in San Francisco who earn the equivalent of nearly £88,000 a year may be classified as 'low income'.

Illustrating the point that 'everything is relative', the report suggests that the high price of housing and other (very high) costs of living means that an income that, elsewhere in the US would be deemed comfortable, can be considered low. The median household income across the US is closer to £68,000.

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Jonny Clark

Jon Clark has been teaching economics and business studies for over 25 years primarily in the Further Education sector. Before joining tutor2u, he was a senior manager at South Cheshire College in Crewe.