rental value to owner-occupants of their homes and the value of services furnished without payment by financial intermediaries and food and fuel produced and consumed on farms.

Disposable personal income is personal income less personal tax and nontax payments. It is the income available to persons for spending and saving. Personal tax and nontax payments are tax payments (net of refunds) by persons (except personal contributions for social insurance) that are not chargeable to business expense, and certain personal payments to general government that are treated like taxes. Personal taxes include income, estate and gift, and personal property taxes and motor vehicle licenses. Nontax payments include passport fees, fines and penalties, donations, and tuitions and fees paid to schools and hospitals operated mainly by government.

Figure 15.1

Relation of Gross National Product, National Income, and Personal

Income: 1983

Trillions of dollars
4.0 —

'Capital consumption allowances ?Less Current surplus of government enterprises plus subs-dies 3Also-Less net interest
and contributions for social insurance 4Aiso- Plus personal interest and personal dividend income

Source Chart prepared by U S Bureau of the Census For data, see table 717

Distribution of money income to families and individuals.—Money income statistics are based on data collected in various field surveys of income conducted since 1936. Since 1947, the Bureau of the Census has collected the data on an annual basis and published them in Curren: Population Reports, series P-60. In each of the surveys, enumerators interview representative samples of the population with respect to income received during the previous year. Money income as defined by the Bureau of the Census differs from the BEA concept of "personal income."

Data on consumer income collected in the CPS by the Bureau of the Census cover money income received (exclusive of certain money receipts such as capital gains) before payments for personal income taxes. Social Security, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc. Therefore, money income does not reflect the fact that some families receive part of their income in the form of noncash benefits (see Section 13) such as food stamps, health benefits, and subsidized housing; that some farm families receive noncash benefits in the form of rent-free housing and goods produced and consumed on the farm; or that noncash benefits are also received by some nonfarm residents which often take the form of the use of business transportation and facilities, full or partial payments by business for retirement programs, medical and educational expenses, etc. These elements should be considered when comparing income levels. For data on noncash benefits, see Section 13. None of the aggregate income concepts (GNP, national income, or personal income) is exactly comparable with money income, although personal income is the closest.

Several changes were made in the collection and presentation of data from the March 1980 CPS. The changes include (1) the use of a more detailed income questionnaire for all sample households, (2) the use of an expanded sample, (3) the implementation of the "householder" concept rather than the traditional "head" concept, (4) the exclusion of a small number of "secondary families" from the count of all families, (5) the use of more detailed income intervals in the upper range of the income distribution, (6) the introduction of the new farm definition, and (7) the restriction of the population with income to persons 15 years old and over. For more information on the impact and comparability, see the source.

Beginning in the March 19b1 Current Population Survey, 1980 census population controls were used; for income years 1971 through 1979, 1970 census population controls had been used. This change had little impact on income summary measures (means and medians) and proportional measures (percent distributions and poverty rates); however, use of the controls may have significant impact on the absolute numbers.

Poverty.—Families and unrelated individuals are classified as being above or below the poverty level using the poverty index originated at the Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by Federal Interagency Committees in 1969 and 1980. The poverty index is based solely on money income and does not reflect the fact that many low-income persons receive noncash benefits such as food stamps, medicaid, and public housing The index is based on the Department of Agriculture's 1961 economy food plan and reflects the different consumption requirements of families based on their size and composition. The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. The following technical changes to the thresholds were made in 1981: (1) distinctions based on sex of householder have been eliminated; (2) separate thresholds for farm families have heen dropped; and (3) the matrix has been expanded to families of nine or more persons from the old cutoff of seven or more persons. These changes have been incorporated in the calculation of poverty data beginning with 1981. The table below shows the average thresholds used for selected years between 1970 and 1983. See Current Population Reports, series P-60, No. 138, for more details.

Weighted Average Poverty Levels Based On Money Income For Families And Unrelated

Individuals: 1970 To 1983

Personal wealth.—Personal wealth estimates, issued by the IRS, are based on a sample of Federal estate tax returns which must be filed for deceased persons. Estimates are weighted to adjust for age, sex, and "social class" (as determined by IRS through insurance holdings). Gross estate is the gross value of all assets, including the full face value of life insurance (reduced by policy loans), before reduction by the amount of debts. The level of gross estate or gross assets required for filing estate tax returns increased from $60,000 which defined top wealthholders in 1972, to $120,000 for 1976. Net worth is one's level of worth after all debts have been removed. At the time of publication, data for 1976 were the most recent available, though there were some 1981 estimates available for selected measures as reported in the summer 1983 SOI Bulletin.

Statistical reliability.—For a discussion of statistical collection and estimation, sampling procedures, and measures of statistical reliability pertaining to Census Bureau data, see Appendix III.

Historical statistics.—Tabular headnotes provide cross-references, where applicable, to Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. See Appendix I.

Figure 15.2
Monthly Income of Families in Constant (1983) Dollars: 1970 to 1983

Figure 15.3
Percent of Persons Below Poverty Level: 1975 to 1983

No. 714. Gross National Product—Summary: 1929 To 1983

[In billion* of dollars. Prior to 1960. excludes Alaska and Hawaii. See Historical Statistics, Colonial Times to 1970. series F i and F 32-70, for single-year figures prior to revisions issued in 1981]

No. 715. GNP IN CURRENT AND CONSTANT (1972) DOLLARS: 1965 TO 1983 (In billions of dollars, except as indicated. See Historical Statistics, Colonial Times to 1970, series F 1. F 5, and F 47-70 for

single-year figures prior to revisions issued in 1981)

201

NA Not available. Change from prior year shown; for 1965, change from 1960. For explanation of average annual percent change. see Guide to Tabular Presentation. 2 1972=100. Purchases of goods and services. GNP minus inventory change.

No. 716. GNP COMPONENTS—ANNUAL GROWTH RATES: 1965 TO 1983 (Percent. Represents changes in constant 1972 dollar GNP. GNP = Gross national product. See headnote, table 720. Minus sign

(-) indicates decline)

Z Less than - .05.

Source of tables 715 and 716: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, The National Income and Product Accounts of the United States, 1929-76, and Survey of Current Business, July issues.