(Archived document, may contain errors) d d I 390 November 1, 1984 THE PROBLEMS OF MEASURING POVERTY INTRODUCTION Federal, state, and local governments last -year spent $107.5 billion on the major means-tested transf er programs usually called we1fare.l According to the Census Bureau, 35.3 million Americans were "in poverty" that year. If this cash had been given outright to those poor, it would have averaged $3,048 per person, or a grant of $12,193 to a family of fo ur well above the 1983 poverty.thresho1d of $10,1