<P> In June 2016, the IMF warned the United States that its high poverty rate needs to be tackled urgently by raising the minimum wage and offering paid maternity leave to women to encourage them to enter the labor force . In December 2017, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, undertook a two - week investigation on the effects of systemic poverty in the United States, and sharply condemned "private wealth and public squalor". Alston's report was issued in May 2018 and highlights that 40 million people live in poverty and over five million live "in' Third World' conditions ." </P> <P> There are two basic versions of the federal poverty measure: the poverty thresholds (which are the primary version); and the poverty guidelines . The Census Bureau issues the poverty thresholds, which are generally used for statistical purposes--for example, to estimate the number of people in poverty nationwide each year and classify them by type of residence, race, and other social, economic, and demographic characteristics . The Department of Health and Human Services issues the poverty guidelines for administrative purposes--for instance, to determine whether a person or family is eligible for assistance through various federal programs . </P> <P> The "Orshansky Poverty Thresholds" form the basis for the current measure of poverty in the U.S. Mollie Orshansky was an economist working for the Social Security Administration (SSA). Her work appeared at an opportune moment . Orshansky's article was published later in the same year that Johnson declared war on poverty . Since her measure was absolute (i.e., did not depend on other events), it made it possible to objectively answer whether the U.S. government was "winning" this war . The newly formed United States Office of Economic Opportunity adopted the lower of the Orshansky poverty thresholds for statistical, planning, and budgetary purposes in May 1965 . </P> <P> The Bureau of the Budget (now the Office of Management and Budget) adopted Orshansky's definition for statistical use in all Executive departments . The measure gave a range of income cutoffs, or thresholds, adjusted for factors such as family size, sex of the family head, number of children under 18 years old, and farm or non-farm residence . The economy food plan (the least costly of four nutritionally adequate food plans designed by the Department of Agriculture) was at the core of this definition of poverty . </P>

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