It's entirely possible to grow up without any first-hand experience with
poverty. Neighborhoods in so many communities are segregated by income. As a result, many of us grew up without any idea that there are people who are poor, who are even without a place to live.
Poverty is measured by income. The federal standard for the poverty-level income for a family of four is $18,850 a year. Familes with incomes below that level are considered poor.
To earn an annual salary of $18,850 a year would require a wage of $9.44 an
hour. That assumes working 40 hours a week and 50 weeks a year. (You can
find out more about US government guidelines for poverty at this website:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/04poverty.shtml).
Many families are living in poverty because the parents earn less than
$18,850 a year. The minimum wage is just $5.25 an hour. A person working 40
hours a week, 50 weeks a year at this minimum would earn only $10,500 for
the year.
In addition, many hourly wage jobs do not provide sick leave or vacation
pay. So if you miss work for any reason, you don't get paid.
Health insurance? That costs extra; it is a benefit seldom offered to those working at low-wage jobs. (This contrasts with those at the higher end of the wage scale for whom health insurance is often a low-cost or even no-cost
benefit.)
There is an additional factor in the past few years which has been worsening the financial difficulties for families living in poverty. It's the rapidly rising cost of housing. Families and individuals with limited incomes are having a harder and harder time finding reasonably-priced housing in any community.
Why are housing costs going up so fast? That's a topic for another discussion.
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Here's an idea for improving health care. What if the two hospitals in Sioux Falls joined together to provide prepaid health care for everyone in the city? Insurance premiums, Medicare, Medicaid and other health payments would be put into a big financial pool. The city and the hospitals could contribute some additional funds to help pay for those who are not covered by private or government health insurance. I think the result would be better health care for all -- but at the same cost(or maybe even less) than now. What ideas do you have?
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