News
By Audrey Waldrop
|
February 17, 2011
More than a quarter of Virginia households are at risk of becoming economically insecure, according to a report published Monday by The University's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
On average, the report stated, Virginia families require two times the federal poverty threshold in income to be economically secure.
The report measures economic security by income adequacy - meaning that households earn enough to pay monthly bills - and asset adequacy - or the cash needed for "short-term financial demands such as job loss." These criterion better reflect the state's economic well-being than the federal poverty threshold, the report stated, because the poverty threshold does not account for the rising costs of household necessities other than food.