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Poverty line set too low to meet needs
Published May 21, 2009
According to the U.S. government, “poor” means that your income is something less than a “poverty line” that was defined back in the mid-1960s. At the time of its inception, the poverty baseline measure was set at approximately three times the annual cost of a nutritionally adequate diet. It was assumed that this amount would enable a family to meet basic needs. It may have then; it doesn’t now.
Consider the current U.S. “poverty line” amount for a single-parent family with two children. According to the Census Bureau, the 2008 amount was $17,346. Would this annual income cover a family’s basic needs?
According to the Economic Policy Institute’s Web site, this three-person family in the Kerrville area (rural Texas) must earn $31,320 annually to pay for key necessities, without setting aside any money in savings or investments. Let’s call this a Basic Family Budget amount.
The gap — between the current “poverty line,” an amount by definition that ought to meet a family’s basic needs, and the Basic Family Budget amount — is astounding. And because housing is one of the largest monthly costs a family must incur, families with incomes beneath that basic budget amount often have no choice but to live in substandard housing. It’s all they can afford.
The negative effects of substandard housing are well documented. A simple search — at the library or online — will turn up thousands of books, articles and studies that list the consequences of living in inferior, often infested, shelter. These consequences are particularly dire for children. And shouldn’t every child be allowed to grow up in decent, affordable housing?
Our national housing goal is “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family,” according to the U.S. Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.). While this national goal is admirable and was reaffirmed by Congress nearly 50 years later, millions of families continue to live in substandard conditions. Having an income above the “poverty line” in no way guarantees a decent place to live.
This is an American problem. It is our problem. And some folks are trying to do something about it.
Two organizations have reached out in a big way to teach this country’s citizens about the issue of substandard housing: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. Together they created the Thrivent Builds Mobile, a 67-foot multi-media exhibit on wheels that is traveling across the United States. Stepping inside the mobile enables each visitor to actually experience what it might be like to live in substandard housing.
The Thrivent Builds Mobile will be at the Texas State Arts & Crafts Fair on May 23-25 at the River Star Arts & Event Park, 4000 Riverside Drive in Kerrville. It is an event not to be missed. It is important for all adults to experience this exhibit; it is equally appropriate for children. Contact Steve Hamilton, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Kerr County, at 792-4844 if you would like more information.
Sources: www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh08.html, www.epi.org/content/budget_calculator
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