Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
EQUITABLE POVERTY REDUCTION AND PREVENTION PLAN
EQUITABLE POVERTY REDUCTION AND PREVENTION PLAN. The 232-page document approved by the Dubuque City Council in March, 2021 detailed strategies the city would follow to combat poverty, a high priority of the council for several years.
In 2019 the federal government considered a single person to be in poverty if he or she had an annual income of $12,490 or less. The poverty threshold for a family of four was $25,750. In Dubuque these statistics described 15.9% of the city's population. This was higher than the state's rate of 11.2% (1) Dubuque's position, in 2021, could may have been much worse. Officials with United Way said that federal standard did not take into account how life changed since then. According to their ALICE system for evaluating need, 44% of Dubuque residents in 2021 did not have enough to cover average expenses. (2)
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Sources:
1. Kruse, John, "Poverty Prevention," Telegraph Herald, April 11, 2021, p. 1A
2. Capuano, A. J. "Dubuque City Council Receives Plan to Fight Poverty. "KWWL Jan. 12, 2021 Online: https://kwwl.com/2021/01/12/dubuque-city-council-receives-plan-to-fight-poverty/