Interesting. Vin's message shows just under $19,000 for a family of four. Either way, it seems pretty low. In Canada it is a bit better. The $19,000 US translates (today) to about $27,000 Cdn, but according to Statistics Canada, that family of four in a larger city (over 500,000 pop) is about $36,000 Cdn (about $25,000 US). Of course, depending on where one lives, that could mean anything. The cost of living in Toronto is far higher than in say, Edmonton, but they both fall into that same category. Just as an example, Ontario has an 8% sales tax on most things, while Alberta has no sales tax at all. Real estate prices in Toronto are among the highest in the world.

In general, I think it is cheaper to live in the US than in Canada. Of course, in specifics, that changes from place to place, but it seems to me that the 'poverty line' number for the US is pretty low.

Alan

>>
>>I do have to ask though. $11.00 an hour. I assume that there is, in the US, as in Canada, a 'poverty line'? Where exactly is that line, and is it realistic?
>>
>>Alan
>
>Alan;
>
>Good question!
>
>Here is the best I could find on the Internet. I reduced it to 1990-92. This does not take location into account. Where I live it is very expensive to "exist".
>
>Families Below Poverty Line in the United States
>
>*Average income cutoff for family of four; for 1959-92, for nonfarm families.
>Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census
>1990 13,359
>1991 13,924
>1992 14,335
>
>Tom