Mollie Orshansky
Encyclopedia
Mollie Orshansky, was an American
economist
and statistician
who, in 1963–65, developed the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds, which are used in the United States
as a measure of the income that a household must not exceed to be counted as poor
.
, and received an A.B. in mathematics and statistics from Hunter College
in 1935. She continued graduate studies in economics and statistics at the Department of Agriculture Graduate School and American University
.
In 1939 she became a research clerk with the Children's Bureau, working on biometric studies of child health, growth, and nutrition. In January 1942, as a statistician in the New York City
Department of Health, she worked on a survey of the incidence of, and therapies for, pneumonia. In 1945, Orshansky moved to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she spent the next thirteen years a family economist, director of the Program Statistics Division, and a food economist.
In 1958, Orshansky joined the Social Security Administration
as a social science research analyst in the Office of Research and Statistics. In this capacity she was responsible for analytical studies to measure income adequacy, family welfare and patterns of family income. In 1963 she developed the official measure of poverty used by the U.S. government (see Poverty in the United States
). The basis of her idea was to use the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet as the basis for a cost-of-living estimate and to calculate a cost of living for families of different sizes and composition. In 1976, Orshansky received the Distinguished Service Award in recognition for her leadership in creating the first nationally accepted measures of income adequacy and applying them to public policy.
Late in her life, a legal battle ensued over her care following a hospitalization in the autumn of 2001. Orshansky was taken to New York according to her wishes, but a judge who had appointed a guardian tried to compel her return to Washington DC. The judge was overruled on appeal, and Orshansky died in Manhattan several years later.
," a third season episode of the United States television program The West Wing. In the story, the federal government was considering a reclassification of poverty forty years later that would have made use of a new formula to add four million additional citizens to the category. Orshansky, actually a native-born citizen of the United States, was misrepresented as an Eastern European immigrant who created a United States "cost of living formula ... based on life in Poland during the Cold War."http://www.westwingtranscripts.com/search.php?flag=getTranscript&id=52
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
who, in 1963–65, developed the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds, which are used in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a measure of the income that a household must not exceed to be counted as poor
Poverty in the United States
Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009 and to its highest level...
.
Life and career
Miss Orshansky was born January 9, 1915, the third of six daughters of Samuel and Fannie Orshansky, Jewish immigrants who settled in the Bronx after leaving Ukraine. She attended Hunter College High SchoolHunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a New York City secondary school for intellectually gifted students located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It is administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York. Although it is not operated by the New York City Department of...
, and received an A.B. in mathematics and statistics from Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in 1935. She continued graduate studies in economics and statistics at the Department of Agriculture Graduate School and American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
.
In 1939 she became a research clerk with the Children's Bureau, working on biometric studies of child health, growth, and nutrition. In January 1942, as a statistician in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Department of Health, she worked on a survey of the incidence of, and therapies for, pneumonia. In 1945, Orshansky moved to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where she spent the next thirteen years a family economist, director of the Program Statistics Division, and a food economist.
In 1958, Orshansky joined the Social Security Administration
Social Security Administration
The United States Social Security Administration is an independent agency of the United States federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and survivors' benefits...
as a social science research analyst in the Office of Research and Statistics. In this capacity she was responsible for analytical studies to measure income adequacy, family welfare and patterns of family income. In 1963 she developed the official measure of poverty used by the U.S. government (see Poverty in the United States
Poverty in the United States
Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009 and to its highest level...
). The basis of her idea was to use the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet as the basis for a cost-of-living estimate and to calculate a cost of living for families of different sizes and composition. In 1976, Orshansky received the Distinguished Service Award in recognition for her leadership in creating the first nationally accepted measures of income adequacy and applying them to public policy.
Late in her life, a legal battle ensued over her care following a hospitalization in the autumn of 2001. Orshansky was taken to New York according to her wishes, but a judge who had appointed a guardian tried to compel her return to Washington DC. The judge was overruled on appeal, and Orshansky died in Manhattan several years later.
Popular culture
Orshansky's development of the Poverty Thresholds was a plot element in "The Indians in the LobbyThe Indians in the Lobby
"The Indians in the Lobby" is the 51st episode of The West Wing.-Plot:It is the day before Thanksgiving and the President is rather disgruntled that the family must spend Thanksgiving at Camp David, rather than his New Hampshire farm, because a poll suggests that Americans would prefer that the...
," a third season episode of the United States television program The West Wing. In the story, the federal government was considering a reclassification of poverty forty years later that would have made use of a new formula to add four million additional citizens to the category. Orshansky, actually a native-born citizen of the United States, was misrepresented as an Eastern European immigrant who created a United States "cost of living formula ... based on life in Poland during the Cold War."http://www.westwingtranscripts.com/search.php?flag=getTranscript&id=52
External links
- Mollie Orshansky Social Security Online. Social Security Pioneers.
- Mollie Orshansky - Forced Guardianship Written statement of Jane M. Pollack before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging February 11, 2003