Black poverty rate highlighted in report
7th November 2011 · 0 Comments
The Half in Ten campaign released a landmark report late last month contrasting the number of struggling families in today’s economy with comprehensive data on the challenges we face in creating enough decent-wage jobs, supplying sufficient affordable housing units, and other foundational supports to ensure pathways out of poverty for millions of Americans.
The report, “Restoring Shared Prosperity: Strategies to Cut Poverty and Expand Economic Growth,” establishes the baseline for Half in Ten’s goal of cutting poverty in half in 10 years, and starts the clock on meeting the target nationally and in every state across the country. The report also outlines a path for policymakers to reverse these troubling trends and rebuild the middle class.
“Poverty is not a moral failing or a natural condition. Nor is it an inevitable consequence of our economy,” Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of 200-plus civil rights groups, said October 26.
“In fact, throughout our history, there have been periods when we significantly reduced poverty, periods when a strong, near-full-employment economy, combined with government and private initiatives, enabled millions of Americans to reach a more stable and productive rung of the economic ladder,” Henderson continued. “Our past experiences have taught us a great deal, and much has been learned about effective strategies for poverty reduction. We know with absolute certainty that it is possible to reduce poverty.
“What we need today — more than anything — is the will to do so.”
The baseline incorporates a set of indicators that measure how well the nation is doing in creating good jobs, strengthening families, and promoting economic security. The Half in Ten report ranks states according to each of these indicators, and the accompanying website emphasizes the state’s bottom-ranking data to focus attention on areas for improvement.
A recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the ranks of America’s poorest poor have reached a record high — one in 15 people. According to the report, about 20.5 million Americans, or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population, make up the poorest poor, defined as those at 50 percent or less of the official poverty level. In 2010, the poorest poor meant an income of $5,570 or less for an individual and $11,157 for a family of four.
“There now really is no unaffected group, except maybe the very top income earners,” Dr. Robert Moffitt, an economics professor at Johns Hopkins University told The Associated Press last week. “Recessions are supposed to be temporary, and when it’s over, everything returns to where it was before. But the worry now is that the downturn — which will end eventually — will have long-lasting effects on families who lose jobs, become worse off and can’t recover.”
“Nearly a half-century ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Stockholm to receive the Noble Peace Prize,” Wade Henderson said. “In his acceptance speech, Dr. King said, ‘There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.’
“What was true in 1964 is even truer today,” Henderson continued. “For even in the midst of a slow-moving recovery following the devastation of the Great Recession, the United States remains the richest and most resourceful nation in the history of mankind.
“Ending poverty is in the national interest, just as important as national security. You only have to look around the world at places fraught with unrest to find people without jobs, without opportunity, and without hope of improving their circumstances.
“Our nation cannot continue to lead the world while ignoring widespread poverty that paralyzes families, destabilizes communities, and closes doors of opportunity to our children,” Henderson added. “To compete in the 21st century, we must be a nation that expands opportunity for all, promotes decent work, ensures economic security, and helps people build wealth to weather hard times and lay the foundation for the advancement of future generations.
“Thankfully, it’s not too late for us to act. And as we’ve heard today, there are many concrete steps our nation can and must take to begin to turn the tide on the crisis of poverty.”
The Half in Ten report points out that no state ranks in the bottom or top five in all indicators, which means that every state has some areas to improve in providing pathways out of poverty and greater opportunity for all.
A central new strategy outlined in the Half in 10 report is increasing the number of household earners and good jobs for single breadwinners rather than focusing solely on encouraging marriage to gain economic stability. The report includes brand-new analysis contrasting poverty rates in one-earner households and multiple-earner households, highlighting a unique vantage point by basing this comparison on earnings rather than on married versus single status.*
To be sure, marriage is an important route in modern American society. But it’s not the only route for low-income families to achieve a firm financial footing. The Half in Ten analysis shows that a key indicator of economic well-being of American families is the number of breadwinners and/or a good job for single breadwinners. Recognizing and encouraging dual incomes in whatever form they exist significantly improves a family’s poverty status.
The Half in Ten report reveals that:
• 69.5 percent of Black children are living in low-income families compared to 32.3 percent of non-Hispanic white children.
• Twenty percent of senior African Americans are in poverty, as opposed to 7.6 percent of whites.
• A disproportionate number of African Americans fall below the official poverty level. In 2010 African Americans (27.4 percent) were more than twice as likely to be poor as white Americans.
• Among those living in deep poverty (below 50 percent of the official poverty level, or $11,157 a year for a family of four), Blacks faced higher rates than the overall population—13.5 percent – compared to 6.7 overall.
• Only 4 percent of households with more than one earner are in poverty (income less than $22,000 a year for a family of four) as compared to 24 percent with a single earner.
• Only 15 percent of multiple-earner families are low-income (have earnings below $44,000 a year for a family of four), while 47 percent of single-earner families are in this category.
Similarly, the data reveal dramatic drops in single-mother family poverty (from 40.7 percent to 14 percent) would occur simply by ensuring that single moms have good and stable jobs. The report, therefore, not only tracks employment but also the accessibility of other supports that allow single parents access and maintain full-time, year-round employment such as safe and reliable child care, paid leave, and other forms of workplace flexibility.
Additionally, the Half in Ten report pairs familiar data on the unemployment crisis with comprehensive information on job quality. It tracks data on the number of workers without paid sick leave, retirement benefits, and family-supporting wages to give a more complete picture of the working poor and workers barely hanging on to the bottom rungs of the middle class.
Overall, the report connects information on the number of people struggling to move out of poverty with the levers to increase opportunity such as more good jobs, access to financial institutions to save for the future, and affordable housing to name a few. Going forward, the campaign will compare next year’s data to this year’s baseline, tracking our progress in restoring shared prosperity and rebuilding the middle class.
“By identifying high-risk communities and families and providing access to good jobs that honor the dignity of work; policies that strengthen families; and opportunities to promote economic security, we can charge a new course for America’s future – one based on the hard-won recognition that stable economic growth requires shared prosperity,” Wade Henderson said. “America has never shied away from big challenges. Whether it was rebuilding Europe after World War II or journeying into the heavens to put a man on the moon, our nation has succeeded by committing itself to grand goals and achieving them through focus and determination.
“The goal of the Half in Ten campaign of cutting poverty in half in 10 years is both manageable and achievable,” Henderson added. “This is a campaign that will serve as a catalyst and – when need be – a conscience in shaping the national dialogue and prodding our political leadership to do what is needed to reduce poverty significantly by 2021.
“What would it mean to accomplish a 50-percent reduction in poverty in 10 years?” Henderson asked. “In concrete terms, it would mean that nearly 20 million fewer Americans would be living in poverty. It would mean a healthier population, less crime, more economic growth, a more capable workforce, a more competitive nation, and a major decline in the racial inequities and disparities that have plagued our nation.
“This is a vision of society worth fighting for. So let’s get out there and fight for it.”
This article was originally published in the November 7, 2011 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper
