God's norm: life-long marriage between male and female with children or single and continent, vs. contraception, fornications, single and fatherless children, welfare.... US Stats:

 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:..And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26, 28) 

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:4-6)

...I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. (1 Corinthians 7:7)

In 2011-2015, among American women ages 15 to 44, 45% had not had any children; 20% had two children; 17% had one child; 18% had three or more children. Between 2007 and 2020, the total fertility rate (TFR) in the United States declined from 2.12 to 1.64... During the 1960s and 1970s, postponement of childbearing resulted in a steep drop in the birth rate among American women ages 20 to 24. After 1975, U.S. birth rates [somewhat] rose for women in their 30s, as older mothers had the children they had postponed earlier in life. Today, U.S. birth rates are highest for women in the age groups of 25 to 29 and 30 to 34

" width="200" height="350" alt=" " border="1"> Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
In the United States, fertility rates have fallen since 1990 among all major racial/ethnic groups, declining fastest among African Americans and Latinas. - https://www.prb.org/resources/why-is-the-u-s-birth-rate-declining/ © 2023 PRB. All Rights Reserved

May 28, 2021 — Among sexually active women who were not seeking pregnancy, 88% were using a contraceptive method in 2016, and this proportion has remained steady since 2002.
>99% of sexually experienced U.S. women aged 15–44 have used at least one contraceptive method as of 2008 ... and this proportion has remained steady since 2002. Almost all women who identify as religious have ever used contraceptive methods—99% of mainline Protestants, evangelical Protestants and Catholics, and 96% of people with other religious affiliations.7 Sexually active couples who do not use any method of contraception have approximately an 85% chance of experiencing a pregnancy over the course of a year - https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/contraceptive-use-united-states

In 2015–2017, 64.9% of the 72.2 million women aged 15–49 in the United States were currently using contraception. The most common contraceptive methods currently used were female sterilization (18.6%), oral contraceptive pill (12.6%), long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) (10.3%), and male condom (8.7%). - https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm

Of all live births in the United States during 2018-2020 (average), 23.7% were Hispanic, 52.1% were white, 15.2% were black, 0.8% were American Indian/Alaska Native and 6.8% were Asian/Pacific Islander. - https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/data?reg=99&top=2&stop=10&lev=1&slev=4&obj=3

Jan 9, 2023: General Single Parent Households Statistics. According to a Pew Research study, the United States has the highest number of children living in single parent households. In contrast, countries like Mali, Afghanistan, Turkey, Vietnam, and Japan recorded only single-digit percentages in single parent households. - https://financesonline.com/single-parent-statistics/

Jun 17, 202: Data from the United States Census Bureau shows that nearly 18.5 million children grow up without their fathers, which has in return led to the United States owning the title of the world's leader in fatherlessness.2 - https://owens.house.gov/posts/fox-news-americas-crisis-is-a-lack-of-fathers

.Aug 8, 2018: Recent estimates show that about 40 percent of births in the United States occur outside of marriage, up from 28 percent in 1990 (Child Trends, 2016)

Aug 2, 2022 — Births to Unmarried Women: Two in five (41%) births were to unmarried mothers in 2020. - https://datacenter.kidscount.org/updates/show/300-births-drop

Today, only about 64 percent of children live in homes with two parents who are married, representing an all-time low (Pew Research Center). Trend data shows a stark and steady decline since 1960, when nearly 88 percent of children lived with married parents. - https://gillespieshields.com/40-facts-two-parent-families/

Mar 12, 2022: About 4 out 10 children were born to unwed mothers. Of single parent families with children under the age of 18, 80 percent were headed by single mothers. Around half (52.3%) of single mothers have never married, almost a third (29.3%) are divorced, 18.4% are either separated or widowed. Half have one child, 30% have two. About two thirds are White, one third Black - https://singlemotherguide.com/single-mother-statistics/

Another 2021 study looking at the living arrangements of parents with children at home indicates that just over 50% of single parents have never married. - https://psychcentral.com/relationships/finding-love-as-a-single-mom

In the United States today, nearly 24 million children live in a single-parent family. This total, which has been rising for half a century, covers about one in every three kids across America - https://www.aecf.org/blog/child-well-being-in-single-parent-families

An estimated 24.7 million children (33%) live absent their biological father. - https://fathers.com/the-extent-of-fatherlessness/

2012: 57.6% of black children, 31.2% of Hispanic children, and 20.7% of white children are living absent their biological fathers. - https://fathers.com/the-extent-of-fatherlessness/

Data from 2019 indicates that: Black and American Indian kids are most likely to live in a single-parent families (64% of Black children and 52% of American Indian children fit this demographic). - https://www.aecf.org/blog/child-well-being-in-single-parent-families

Mississippi 55.8%; Louisiana 54.5%; New Mexico 53.2%; Nevada 48.8%; Alabama 48.4%; Delaware 48.1%; Florida; 47.2% are the leading states for unmarried parents - https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/unmarried/unmarried.htm

The average dad is now 30.9 years old at their child's birth. - https://www.science.org/content/article/average-age-new-us-dads-has-passed-30

As reported by the Center for Children and Families: [u, 2009-2011] 40% of all live births in the US are to single mothers. ➲ 90% of welfare recipients are single mothers - https://post.ca.gov/portals/0/post_docs/publications/Building%20a%20Career%20Pipeline%20Documents/safe_harbor.pdf  

Supplemental:

The total fertility rate (TFR) drops sharply right when modern contraception and then legal abortion become widespread, and both trends track closely with the long‑run decline from baby‑boom levels to today’s sub‑replacement fertility.¹²³⁴⁵

1. Big picture: TFR vs. time

Approximate U.S. total fertility rate (births per woman):⁶⁷⁸⁹

• 1957 (baby boom peak): ~3.7–3.8 births per woman; general fertility 122.9 births per 1,000 women 15–44.¹⁰¹¹
• 1960: still ~3.6–3.7 (high fertility, early marriage, little pill use).¹²¹³
• 1970: ~2.5 (sharp drop underway).¹⁴¹⁵
• 1976: ~1.74 (below replacement; near the low point of the 1970s).¹⁶¹⁷
• 1980s–1990s: rebounds to ~1.8–2.0; around 2.08 in 1990, ~2.0 by 1999.¹⁸¹⁹
• 2010: ~1.93.²⁰
• 2019: ~1.71.²¹
• 2023: ~1.62 (about 22% below 1990).²²
• 2024 provisional: around 1.6 or slightly below, an all‑time low.²³²⁴

So the key structural shift is late 1960s–1970s: TFR falls from ~3.6 to ~1.7 as contraceptive prevalence and legalized abortion rise.

2. Contraception use vs. time

Any contraception (married couples / women)

From CDC NSFG/series reports:^2526272829

• 1965: ~63% of married couples 15–44 using some method; pill/IUD barely introduced.³⁰
• 1973: ~70% using contraception.³¹
• 1976: ~68% using contraception.³²
• 1982: 54% of women 15–44 using a method (different denominator, but shows broad use).³³
• 1988: 60% of women 15–44 using a method.³⁴
• 1995: 64% using contraception.³⁵
• 2006–2010: 62.2% of women 15–44 using a method.³⁶
• 2011–2013: 61.7% using a method.³⁷
• 2015–2017: 64.9% of women 15–49 using contraception.³⁸
• 2017–2019: 65.3% of women 15–49 using contraception.³⁹

Method mix (key shifts)

• 1965–1973: Rapid adoption of new methods—pill, IUD, male sterilization—which “did not exist or rarely were used before 1960.”⁴⁰⁴¹
  • Pill use rises sharply; condom and rhythm decline.
• 1973–1982: Pill use falls; contraceptive sterilization rises to become leading method (28% of wives using sterilization by 1982).⁴²⁴³
• 2000s–2010s: LARC (IUD/implant) use rises from ~1–2% to ~10% of women 15–49 (and 16% of contraceptive users by 2018).⁴⁴⁴⁵

Overall, between 1965 and the late 1970s, both prevalence and effectiveness of contraception jump, while TFR collapses from ~3.6 to ~1.7.⁴⁶⁴⁷⁴⁸

3. Abortion trends vs. fertility

From Guttmacher and summary stats:⁴⁹⁵⁰

• Pre‑1973: Abortions underreported; illegal in most states.
• 1973 (Roe v. Wade): National legalization; abortions ~616,000, rate ~16.3 per 1,000 women 15–44.⁵¹⁵²
• Peak ~1980: ~1.55–1.6 million abortions per year; rate ~29–30 per 1,000 women; abortion ratio ~30 per 100 pregnancies ending in birth or abortion.⁵³⁵⁴
• 1990s–2010s: Abortion rate steadily declines; by 2016 ratio down ~40% from its 1983 peak to ~18 abortions per 100 pregnancies; rate ~13–14 per 1,000 women.⁵⁵
• 2020: Guttmacher: ~930,000 abortions; rate 14.4 per 1,000 women 15–44; abortion ratio 20.6 per 100 pregnancies.⁵⁶⁵⁷

Overlay with TFR:

• TFR falls before and during the early surge in abortions: below replacement by early 1970s, while abortion rates are rising and pill/sterilization use is spreading.⁵⁸⁵⁹⁶⁰
• Through the 1980s–2010s, TFR remains below replacement even as abortion rates decline, because effective contraception, delayed marriage, and socio‑economic factors keep desired family size and realized births low.^61626364

4. Correspondence summarized

From ~1960 to today, you can reasonably trace:

• Pre‑1960:
  • Limited modern contraception; rhythm and condoms; very low abortion (legal).⁶⁵
  • High marriage, early first births; TFR ~3.6–3.8.⁶⁶⁶⁷
• 1960s:
  • Pill approved (1960); IUDs emerge; adoption grows through mid‑1960s.⁶⁸
  • Contraceptive prevalence among couples rises from 63% (1965) to 70% (1973), with sharp rise in pill/IUD use.⁶⁹
  • TFR falls from ~3.6 (1960) to ~2.5 (1970).⁷⁰⁷¹
• 1970s:
  • Contraceptive use stays high, with increasing shift toward sterilization by mid‑late 1970s.⁷²⁷³
  • Abortion legalized (1973) and rises rapidly through early 1980s.⁷⁴⁷⁵
  • TFR drops below replacement (~2.1) and bottoms near 1.7 by mid‑late 1970s.⁷⁶⁷⁷
• 1980s–1990s:
  • High but stable contraceptive prevalence (~55–64% of women), heavy reliance on sterilization and pills.⁷⁸⁷⁹
  • Abortion rate peaks around 1980, then gradually declines, but TFR stabilizes only around ~1.8–2.0, never returning to 1950s levels.⁸⁰⁸¹
• 2000s–2020s:
  • Contraceptive use still ~60–65% of women, with big rise in LARC and continued heavy sterilization.⁸²⁸³⁸⁴
  • Abortion ratio and rate decline substantially vs. 1980s, but remain non‑trivial.⁸⁵⁸⁶
  • TFR falls further to ~1.7, then ~1.6, as people delay marriage/childbearing and have fewer children overall.⁸⁷⁸⁸⁸⁹

So the PRB statement is well supported: the steep 1970s drop in TFR corresponds closely to (1) rapid diffusion of highly effective contraception and (2) the onset of legal abortion, together with delayed marriage and socio‑economic shifts.^90919293

If you want, the next step could be a compact table showing decade points: (TFR, % women using contraception, abortion rate per 1,000), which would be useful for your debates. ⁹⁴⁹⁵

⁂

---

1. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

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4. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

5. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

6. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

8. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-3.pdf↩︎

9. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

11. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

12. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

15. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

16. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

18. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-3.pdf↩︎

19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

20. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

21. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

22. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-3.pdf↩︎

23. https://www.contemporaryobgyn.net/view/record-low-us-fertility-rate-reported-in-2024↩︎

24. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-u-s-fertility-rate-reached-a-new-low-in-2024-cdc-data-shows↩︎

25. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

26. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

27. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db388.htm↩︎

28. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db173.htm↩︎

29. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm↩︎

30. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

31. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

32. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

33. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

34. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9494809/↩︎

35. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9494809/↩︎

36. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db173.htm↩︎

37. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db173.htm↩︎

38. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm↩︎

39. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db388.htm↩︎

40. https://www.restoredcdc.org/www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

41. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

42. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

43. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

44. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db188.htm↩︎

45. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm↩︎

46. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

47. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

48. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

49. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

50. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

51. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

52. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

53. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

54. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

55. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

56. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

57. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

58. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

59. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

60. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

61. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59899↩︎

62. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-u-s-fertility-rate-reached-a-new-low-in-2024-cdc-data-shows↩︎

63. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

64. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

65. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

66. https://www.heritage.org/marriage-and-family/report/crossroads-american-family-life-the-intersection-tradition-and-modernity↩︎

67. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

68. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

69. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

70. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

71. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

72. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

73. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_010.pdf↩︎

74. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

75. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

76. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/births.htm↩︎

77. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

78. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9494809/↩︎

79. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

80. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

81. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_fertility_rate↩︎

82. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db388.htm↩︎

83. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db327.htm↩︎

84. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db188.htm↩︎

85. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States↩︎

86. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

87. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/the-u-s-fertility-rate-reached-a-new-low-in-2024-cdc-data-shows↩︎

88. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

89. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr74/nvsr74-3.pdf↩︎

90. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-have-us-fertility-and-birth-rates-changed-over-time/↩︎

91. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad102acc.pdf↩︎

92. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/pregnancies-births-abortions-in-united-states-1973-2020↩︎

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94. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-visualization/natality-trends/index.htm↩︎

95. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/state-stats/births/fertility-rate.html↩︎

Welfare and growing dependency upon government. What determines income in Federal Poverty Guidelines (2022)?

 After I read in January 2022 that “Congress created the Affordable Connectivity Program, a new long-term, $14 billion program, with “new ways to qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program such as: receiving WIC benefits or having an income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines [levels],” then I decided to investigate some of this growing dependency upon government (which is to be obeyed except when in conflict with the Bible). 

Which dependence, among other things, fosters increasing assent to government support of perversions of what God instituted (including innocent life, as with the unborn, being protected versus at least 20% of pregnancies ending in murder by abortion, and with male and female being biological terms, and only these two being sexually joined, only in marriage, versus fostering fornication and essentially requiring affirmation of homosexual unions, despite the profound negative effects on individuals and society of fornication, in health, lives, souls and money (extensive documentation).

Note that about the time of this writing, the national debt stood at over 29 trillion dollars (1-15-22 [31.5 in summer of 2023]) and rising, yet partly due to Covid-19 and supererogatory measures (both are judgments from God) to control it, 61% of Americans paid no federal income taxes in 2020.

Reading “200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines” promoted me to investigate that first, and which means, for instance, that while for a household of three the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) would be $21,960 yet 200% of the FPL would be $43,920 (compared with $29,646 last year), and would qualify that household for $30 a month discount for high-speed Internet and “eligible households also can receive a onetime discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer or tablet from participating providers if the consumer contributes $10 to $50 toward the purchase price.” “The $14.2 billion Affordable Connectivity Program is just a part of roughly $65 billion to improve access to high-quality, high-speed internet access contained in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law Nov. 15.” (https://www.aarp.org/home-family/personal-technology/info-2021/fcc-subsidy-helps-broadband-internet-access.html)

However, as reported here, the official poverty measure is based on cash income only, which fails to capture all the resources available to a family including tax credits and in-kind transfers. Also, the official measure of family resources is biased due to under-reporting of certain types of income that are commonly received by those with low reported income. 

What are Federal Poverty Guidelines/Levels (FPL)?

The Federal Poverty Guidelines are federally set “poverty lines” that indicate the minimum amount of annual income that an individual / family needs to pay for essentials, such as housing, utilities, clothing, food, and transportation. These guidelines, also called Federal Poverty Levels (FPLs), are based on the size of a household and the state in which one resides. FPLs are the same in 48 of the 50 states. The two exceptions are Alaska and Hawaii, which have higher Federal Poverty Levels due to the higher cost of living. As an example, in 2021, the annual FPL for an individual in Alaska was $16,090, in Hawaii it was $14,820, and in the remainder of the states it was  $12,880...

The exact percentage of the FPL used for eligibility purposes varies based on the program and the state...

The FPL in 48 Contiguous States

# of Persons in Household	2021 Federal Poverty Level for the 48 Contiguous States (Annual Income)
	100%	133%	138%	150%	200%	300%	400%
1	$12,880	$17,130	$17,774	$19,320	$25,760	$38,640	$51,520
2	$17,420	$23,169	$24,040	$26,130	$34,840	$52,260	$69,680
3	$21,960	$29,207	$30,305	$32,940	$43,920	$65,880	$87,840
4	$26,500	$35,245	$36,570	$39,750	$53,000	$79,500	$106,000
5	$31,040	$41,283	$42,835	$46,560	$62,080	$93,120	$124,160
6	$35,580	$47,321	$49,100	$53,370	$71,160	$106,740	$142,320
7	$40,120	$53,360	$55,366	$60,180	$80,240	$120,360	$160,480
8	$44,660	$59,398	$61,631	$66,990	$89,320	$133,980	$178,640
Add $4,540 for each person in household over 8 persons

The Federal Benefit Rate, abbreviated as FBR, is the maximum amount to which an aged, blind or disabled person who qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is able to receive in monthly cash benefits. In 2021, the maximum FBR was $794 for a single individual and $1,191 for a married couple...(https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/federal-poverty-guidelines)

What programs use FPL guidelines?

Several programs use either 100% of the poverty guidelines or a percentage multiple of the guidelines. For example, some programs use 125%, 150%, or 185% of the guidelines to determine eligibility. (https://www.medicareplanfinder.com/medicare/federal-poverty-level/#What-programs-use-FPL-guidelines)

[AT LEAST 30 PROGRAMS USE THE FPL.]

Some examples of federal programs that use the poverty guidelines in determining eligibility include the following:

Department of Health and Human Services: Community Services Block Grant, Head Start, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance

Department of Agriculture: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program), National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program

Department of Energy: Weatherization Assistance for Low-Income Persons Federal Poverty Levels do not count Noncash benefits (e.g. food stamps and housing subsidies)

Department of Labor: Job Corps, National Farmworker Jobs Program, Workforce Investment Act Youth Activities (https://www.irp.wisc.edu/resources/what-are-poverty-thresholds-and-poverty-guidelines/)

Examples of Automotive Help Programs

New Car Program for Those in Need

Bad Credit Auto Loans

Extended Auto Warranties

Job Access and Reverse Commute

Disability Transportation

{https://reliefbenefits.com/government-assistance)

What income is not counted? [for SNAP benefits]

You must meet the SNAP income tests to get SNAP benefits. There is no asset test for most Massachusetts households....

Here are examples of income that does not count for SNAP:

VISTA, Youthbuild, AmeriCorps, and Foster Grandparent allowances, earnings, or payments for persons otherwise eligible.

U.S. temporary Census earnings, for the 2020 Census count.

Lump sum payments...

Reimbursements – money you get to pay you back for expenses,.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)...

Anything you do not get as cash... paid directly to a landlord or utility company...that has no legal obligation to do so....

Veterans Services (M.G.L. c 115) payments made by vendor payment directly to your landlord or utility company.

Money earned by a child under age 18 who..lives with a parent or other responsible adult.

Much more: https://www.masslegalhelp.org/income-benefits/food-stamps/advocacy-guide/part3/q69-income-not-counted; Produced by Patricia Baker and Victoria Negus, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Reviewed January 2020

[Below are some more benefit programs and services, but which also include local, state and federal programs as well as some private organizations.]

GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS OR FINANCIAL HELP FROM LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS...

• Government mortgage and foreclosure assistance is available...

• Rent help from assistance programs is available from a number of sources.

• Government mortgage and foreclosure assistance...

• Rent help from assistance programs i..

• a variety of additional low income assistance programs ..

• Housing Choice Voucher Program...

• Disability assistance is administered by most state governments..

• Human or social service offices ...

• Financial assistance from your utility company may be available...

• Telephone assistance programs..

• Water bill assistance programs..

• Federal government grants are provided to states and local governments as part of low income energy (LIHEAP)...

• Free weatherization programs are also available nationwide...

• Medical bill assistance..

• Prescription drug assistance programs ..

• Government funded community clinics..

• Find dental care from free clinics...Many accept both state or federal government assistance and public health insurance for payment..

• Free government health care programs..

• Government sponsored welfare programs are available nationally as well as locally....

• Free food from assistance programs are offered by the state as well as federal government...

• Charities, churches and other organizations that offer financial assistance or small amounts of money from the government can sometimes help you with paying bills or debts...

• Older adults and senior citizens.. There are government funded agencies that focus on their needs..

• Several federal government agencies are focused on supporting people and helping them find a job or gain new skills. ..

• Day and child care assistance is available in all states.... Government child care vouchers and subsidies can be obtained

State & Local Resources[;] Rent Assistance[;]

Free Food Pantries[;] Utility Bill Help[;]

Free Stuff and Money[;] Extra Income and Home Work;

Public Assistance[;] Disability Programs[;] Section 8 Housing[;] Senior Assistance[;] Emergency Rent Assistance[;] Free Job Training[;] Free Money[;] Grants For Bills[;] Free Clothes & Supplies[;] LIHEAP Assistance[;] elephone Assistance[;] Help with Water Bills[;] Charity Assistance[;] Church Assistance[;] Community Action Agencies[;] Medical Bills[;] Free Healthcare[;] Free Prescriptions[;] Free Community Clinics[;] Free Dental Clinics[;] Loans For Bills[;] Automobile Loan Assistance[;] Free Cash Loans[;] Debt Help[;] Mortgage Help[;] ...

How much CASH assistance will I get?The amount of cash assistance available in each state listed below varies...the dollar amounts will always change from year to year... 8 highest vs. 8 lowest I found]

Alaska $923; New York $789; California $704; Connecticut $698; New Hampshire $675; Wisconsin $653; Massachusetts $618; Hawaii $610';

Mississippi $170; Tennessee $185; Alabama $215; Arkansas $204; Louisiana $240; Kentucky $262; Georgia $280; Texas $285 (https://www.needhelppayingbills.com/html/how_much_cash_assistance.html)

Paying For Child Care

• Child care subsidies (also called vouchers and fee assistance):

• Head Start and Early Head Start:

• State-funded prekindergarten:

• Military fee assistance programs:

• Assistance for high school students:

• College or university child care:

• Employer-assisted dependent care:

• Other employer resources:

• Sliding fee scale:

• Local assistance and scholarships:

• Sibling discount:

• Military discount:

• American Indian and Alaska Native Assistance:

• Native Hawaiian child care and preschool programs:

• Child and dependent care tax credit

• Earned income tax credit (https://childcare.gov/consumer-education/get-help-paying-for-child-care)

What types of federal student loans are available?

• Direct Subsidized Loans .

• Direct Unsubsidized Loans

• Direct PLUS Loans

• Direct Consolidation Loans

(https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans)

• Social Security Survivors Benefits

Eligible survivors include:...

• COVID funeral reimbursement now $9,000

If a relative of yours died from COVID-19, you may be able to get reimbursed up to $9,000 for funeral expenses. ..In 2019, the median national cost of a funeral with a viewing and a burial was $7,640 (https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/covid-funeral-reimbursement-now-9000-heres-how-to-apply-today/)

Also relevant:

The Social Security Administration has announced a 1.3% increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for 2021...The new SSI federal base amount is $794 per month for an individual and $1,191 per month for a couple. The SSI payment amounts are higher in states that pay a supplementary SSI payment....average disability benefit: $1,277 p>An applicant for disability benefits through the Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) or SSI programs must be making less than $1,310 per month (up from $1,260 per month in 2021) to qualify for benefits. (Blind applicants can make up to $2,190 per month). Anyone working above those limits is considered to be doing "substantial gainful activity" (SGA)....

Over half of the income made by an SSI recipient is not counted toward the limit, so you can actually receive SSI until you make up to $1,672 per month (if you have no other income). However, any income received between $0 and $1,672 will reduce the monthly benefit. (For instance, if you earn $1,500 a month and have no other income, your SSI check will be only $86.50.) In some states that make extra payments to SSI recipients, the income limit for SSI recipients may be higher. The income exclusion amount for students receiving SSI is now $1,930 per month (up to an annual limit of $7,770). - https://www.nolo.com/legal-updates/social-security-and-ssi-disability-and-benefit-amounts-for-2021.html

The Social Security Administration provides benefits to children with disabilities in low-income households through the SSI program. More than 1.3 million children received SSI disability benefits in 2014; 16 percent of those – or 213,668 children -- are receiving benefits because of primary speech and language disorders. In the past decade, the size of this group has more than tripled; between 2007 and 2011, the number of children who began receiving SSI benefits for speech and language disorders increased by nearly 40 percent. ...Between 3 percent and16 percent of all children in the U.S. experience disruptions in communication because of speech and language disorders. - THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE; https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2016/01/increase-in-the-number-of-children-who-receive-federal-disability-benefits-for-speech-and-language-disorders-similar-to-trends-in-the-general-population-says-new-report

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides income support to needy persons aged 65 or older, blind or disabled adults, and blind or disabled children. Eligibility requirements and federal payment standards are nationally uniform. SSI replaced the former federal/state adult assistance programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Payments under SSI began in January 1974, with 3.2 million persons receiving federally administered payments. By December 1974, this number had risen to nearly 4 million and remained at about that level until the mid-1980s, then rose steadily, reaching nearly 6 million in 1993 and 7 million by the end of 2004. As of December 2019, the number of recipients was about 8.1 million. Of this total, more than 4.6 million were between the ages of 18 and 64, 2.3 million were aged 65 or older, and 1.1 million were under age 18.

The average monthly federally administered SSI payment was $566. Payments varied by age group, ranging from an average of $670 for recipients aged under 18 to $459 for those aged 65 or older. The maximum federal benefit rate in December 2019 was $783 for an individual and $1,175 for a couple, plus any applicable state supplementation.

- https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2020/fast_facts20.html#page24

Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program [SSDI]. In December 2019, there were 9,765,096 people receiving Social Security disability benefits as disabled workers, disabled widow(er)s, or disabled adult children. The majority (85.8 percent) were disabled workers, 11.7 percent were disabled adult children, and 2.5 percent were disabled widow(er)s. https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2019/sect01.html

The following is indirectly related to SSI: Every month, 14 million people now get a disability check from the government...The federal government spends more money each year on cash payments for disabled former workers than it spends on food stamps and welfare combined....The vast majority of people on federal disability do not work.[1] Yet because they are not technically part of the labor force, they are not counted among the unemployed...

In Hale County, Alabama, nearly 1 in 4 working-age adults is on disability.[2] On the day government checks come in every month, banks stay open late, Main Street fills up with cars, and anybody looking to unload an old TV or armchair has a yard sale. ..There's no diagnosis called disability. You don't go to the doctor and the doctor says, "We've run the tests and it looks like you have disability." It's squishy enough that you can end up with one person with high blood pressure who is labeled disabled and another who is not....The health problems where there is most latitude for judgment -- back pain, mental illness -- are among the fastest growing causes of disability.

People on disability are not counted among the unemployed. "That's a kind of ugly secret of the American labor market," David Autor, an economist at MIT, told me. "Part of the reason our unemployment rates have been low, until recently, is that a lot of people who would have trouble finding jobs are on a different program."..disability has also become a de facto welfare program for people without a lot of education or job skills. But it wasn't supposed to serve this purpose; it's not a retraining program designed to get people back onto their feet. Once people go onto disability, they almost never go back to work. Fewer than 1 percent of those who were on the federal program for disabled workers at the beginning of 2011 have returned to the workforce since then, one economist told me....

As I got further into this story, I started hearing about another group of people on disability: kids. People in Hale County told me that what you want is a kid who can "pull a check." Many people mentioned this, but I basically ignored it. It seemed like one of those things that maybe happened once or twice, got written up in the paper and became conversational fact among neighbors. Then I looked at the numbers. I found that the number of kids on a program called Supplemental Security Income -- a program for children and adults who are both poor and disabled -- is almost seven times larger than it was 30 years ago.

Jahleel Duroc (pictured above) is gap-toothed, 10 and vibrating with enthusiasm. He's excited to talk to someone new, excited to show me his map of his neighborhood in the Bronx. He's disabled in the eyes of the government because he has a learning disability.

When you are an adult applying for disability you have to prove you cannot function in a "work-like setting." When you are a kid, a disability can be anything that prevents you from progressing in school. Two-thirds of all kids on the program today have been diagnosed with mental or intellectual problems....

Jahleel's mom wants him to do well in school. That is absolutely clear. But her livelihood depends on Jahleel struggling in school. This tension only increases as kids get older. One mother told me her teenage son wanted to work, but she didn't want him to get a job because if he did, the family would lose its disability check....

By Chana Joffe-Walt. More on a problem designed to combat a problem: https://apps.npr.org/unfit-for-work/

Note that in the Bible, under the theocracy instituted by God through Moses,   the closest thing to socialism is that as a theocracy  which included the Hebrews:

•  selling themselves (or being sold) into servanthood, (Leviticus 25:39,47ff) with the owner giving generous severance pay in the seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:9-15) thus fostering self-sufficiency, vs.  welfare. And:

• not harvesting the corners of the field,  leaving them "for the poor and stranger. (Lv. 19:10; 23:22) And also:

• letting the land rest the 7th year with the poor being the harvesters (meaning work: Exodus 30 23:11). As well as leaving that which dies of itself for the poor. (Deuteronomy 14:21) And:

• at the end of every seven years making a release of every creditor of his neighbour, or of his brother, excluding foreigners. (Deuteronomy 15:1-3) And;

• giving to every family per tribes a portion of the conquered land by lot for an inheritance forever. (Numbers 33:53,54)

• ever fiftieth year proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants to return every man unto his possession (in case they sold it, such as out of need), and every man unto his family. (Leviticus 25:10)

• And personal charity to brethren who waxed poor, and with loans having no interest, (Leviticus 25:35,36; Deuteronomy 15:7,8; cf. 1 Timothy 6:17,18; 1 John 3:16,17) and:

• not keeping overnight what he placed down as collateral/pledge (Deuteronomy 24:12) And:

• paying workers daily. (Deuteronomy 24:15) And with:

• the same tax (an half shekel) for rich and poor for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Exodus 30:15,16)?

• A yearly tithe of produce, dough, etc. for the Levites to do the service of the Tabernacle (Numbers 18:20,21; Leviticus 27:30-31)

• The yearly tithe of their increase of the field (being an agrarian-based society) for the feasts, to eat (or buy food if one came from far away, who could sell their increase) at the feast unto the Lord in the place which He would choose to place his name. (Deuteronomy 14:22-26)

• The free-will offerings by inviolable vows, of persons, cattle, houses, or land, (Leviticus 27:2-25) according to administrative estimation based on value and ability.

• The tithe of thine increase at the end of three years, thus, "the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest." (Deuteronomy 14:28,29)

Thus, while some liberals attempt to invoke the Bible in support of "redistributive social welfare tax,"  what the Bible describes is simply not analogous to the "social justice" movement of the Left, which not extends to tax money being used for "gender justice" and fostering transitioning beginning with adolescents, and surgery even for prisoners. 

And  attempts  to use the theocracy of Israel  as applicable tor civil government today needs to  deal with it as part a whole system, which was opposed to,

1. a welfare system which subsidizes having children due to rampant continued fornication. And fosters:

2. absentee fathers, and:

3. able persons/recipients who would not seek to be productive. And

4. a vast penal system, and:

5. redundant overlapping (federal and "tribal") programs providing $ignificant aid for a whole host of aspects, including education, housing, heat, power, health care, utility rates, and a multitude of adult health issues as well as children, and including:

6. funding the cost of treatment for a disease primarily caused by a sinful activity the Scriptures only condemns, and even funding so that they may engage in it without becoming infected, as well as for treatment due to a fornicating lifestyle. And:

7. with the support largely being an impersonal means in the mail or similar, And:

8. administered by a vast bureaucracy largely staffed by supporters of said system (with most likely being socialism-supporting  college students). 

9. many of whom are naïve idealistic students of secular schools working to get their  remaining debt forgiven by working for the government). 

10.  And with those with  political  power  fostering a victim-entitlement mentality, in which all those lack benefits others earned are told they are victims of injustice, and have the right to benefits others earned, and who are generally portrayed as oppressors who need to have more taken from them to provide what the victims are told is their right (thus working against the concept of mercy and grace and acts of gratitude), and by which Communist-type seduction said political powers obtain their power (in the end resulting in dictatorships and the most extreme economic discrepancy), all of which is

11. funded by approx. just half the adult population, and:

12. with certain benefits for the working poor effectively being a disincentive to work, since recipients quickly lose more benefits for each additional dollar they earn.  

See The Big Picture: who is really running the show in the culture war, and its nature and trajectory

And most importantly,  please read on as regards salvation:

* In the Bible, one is saved by penitent, heart-purifying, regenerating effectual faith, (Acts 10:43-47; 15:7-9) in the risen Divine (http://peacebyjesus.org/deityofchrist.html) Lord Jesus, who was sent by the Father to be the savior of the world. (1 John 4:14) who did everything Right, but then took responsibility for all we did Wrong, paying the price the forgiveness of our sin with His own sinless shed blood. (Isaiah 53:4–11; Luke 24:47; Luke 24:47; Col. 1:14)

* And 3 days later then rose and ascended to His Father in Heaven as Lord of all, and thus enabling regeneration (John 7:37, 38; 14:24,25; 16:7) when one essentially believes as described above. (Acts 15:7-9; Eph. 1:13; Titus 3:5)

* And which faith is imputed for righteousness, (Romans 4:5) and results in following the Lord, (Jn. 10:27, 28; Romans 8:14) which is to formally begin with being baptized (Acts 2:38-47; 8:12,36,37)

* And by which faith the redeemed soul is "accepted in the Beloved" and positionally seated with Him in Heaven, on His account, glory to God. (Ephesians 1:6; 2:6; cf. Phil. 3:21)

* And those who die in that obedient faith will go to be forever with Him at death or His return.(Phil 1:23; 2Cor. 5:8 [“we”]; Heb, 12:22,23; 1Cor. 15:51ff'; 1Thess. 4:14, 17) “the resurrection of life. ”(Jn. 5:29a)

And will go with the Lord Jesus to the battle of Armageddon, “ (Jude 14-15) and also stand before “the judgment seat of Christ” which is only for believers and who will be judged as to rewards or loss thereof due their manner of workmanship in building the body of Christ, the church. (Lk. 14:14; cf. 1Cor. 3:8ff; 4:5; Acts 24:15)

And shall then be rulers under Christ in His literal 1,000 year reign. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6) In contrast to those who were never born of the Spirit or who terminally fall away. (Gal. 5:1-4; Heb. 3:12; 10:25-39)

After which the “great and notable day of the Lord” ‘ (Acts 2:20) culminates in the Great White Throne judgment, with “the resurrection of damnation” (Jn. 5:29b) and their judgment which occurs 1,000 years after “the first resurrection” (Rv. 20:6) the “resurrection of life, (”(Jn. 5:29a) and in which judgment believers will be part of the jury in the judgment of men and angels (1 Corinthians 6:3)

In which the dead are judged out of those things which were written in the books, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, (Rv. 20:11-5) with their degree of punishment being determined in accordance with how much light and grace was given. (Lk. 10:12-13; 12:47,48)