Poverty in Wisconsin Chippewa Valley, WI September 26, 2014 Ken Taylor Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Robert Kraig Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund 1
Poverty Definition is Limited It is set at 3 times the minimum food diet in 1963 Does not include modern draws on resources like work expenses, transportation to work, medical bills Not adjusted to modern living standards Not adjusted by geography (varying living costs) Does not include most of the programs designed to decrease poverty BUT is still best national measure (Source, UW Institute for Research on Poverty)
Federal Poverty Guidelines by Family Size Persons in Family / Household Poverty Guideline 1 $11,670 2 $15,730 3 $19,790 4 $23,850 5 $27,910 6 $31,970 7 $36,030 8 $40,090 For families/households with more than 8 persons, add $4,060 for each additional person. A full-time minimum wage job produces a gross income of $15,080
Magnitude and Dimensions 4
% Poverty by Age Living Below the Federal Poverty Level 2010 US Census 5 Bureau
16 Million American children in the U.S. live below the poverty line That s more than the populations of New York LA and Chicago COMBINED = 100,000 people
% Poverty Over Time: 1959-2010 Children and Seniors Sachs JD. The Price of Civilization. 7 2011, Random House, NY. Chapter 10, pp. 185-208
Child Poverty Rates: United States and United Kingdom 26.1 22.5 18.9 12.3 10.6 2010 Smeeding T, Waldfogel J. Fighting childhood poverty in the US &UK: and update. 2010. 8 Cribb J, Joyce R, Phillip D. Living standards, poverty and inequality in the UK: 2012. IFS commentary C124.
Poverty in Wisconsin 9
What do we know about Wisconsin? Although our child poverty rate is still below the national average (18% vs. 23%): Wisconsin s rate has grown faster than the national rate over the decade Milwaukee has the 4 th highest level of children living in concentrated poverty of the 50 largest cities There are substantial racial disparities in child poverty rates 10
Percent of the population living in poverty By county, Wisconsin, 2008-2012 Source: American Community Survey, 5-year average: 2008-2012. 11
Free/Reduced Lunch Eligibility Reveals Trend in WI Child Poverty
Concentrated and deep poverty The added challenge of extreme poverty: 13
100,000 Wisconsin children live in deep poverty
Racial Disparities in Wisconsin Percent of Children Living in Poverty by Race (2013) 60% 50% 52.5% 46.7% 40% 35.3% 30% 20.0% 20% 10.9% 10% 0% Black or African American American Indian Hispanic Asian Non-Hispanic White Source: American Community Survey, 2013 15
The poverty rate for Black kids in Wisconsin is 4X higher than for White kids
Eau Claire County 25% Child Poverty 22.2% Poverty (all ages) 20% 18.3% 18.4% 15% 10% 13.4% 11.2% 11.2% Eau Claire County Wisconsin 5% U.S. 0% 2008 2013 American Community Survey, 2008 & 2013 17
The Economy
Income Inequality Trend Source: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/inequality/index.html
The wealthiest 400 now have same wealth as half of all Americans
America is No Longer the Land of Opportunity
Minimum Wage Jobs Increasingly Support Families, Lost Ground Minimum Wage over $2.00 per hour less than 1968 Minimum Wage workers in 2014 are much more productive and better educated 87% minimum wage workers 20 years or older 57% are women 45% have some college education 587,000 Wisconsin workers make less than $10.10 per hour
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Women earn 77 cents on the dollar Over a million dollars in lost lifetime earnings
Poverty & Health 25
What Impacts Health? Social determinants of health
Health and Income Access to health promoting goods and services Psychosocial effects linked with economic resources Cumulative effects over time and at critical periods. Sources: RWJF 2008, Obstacles to Health Report, Szanton 2005, RWJF-Stable Jobs http://www.rwjf.org/en/blogs/new-public-health/2013/01/stable_jobs_health.html Braveman, Paula. Income Wealth and Health. RWJF Special Issue Brief http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/issue_briefs/2011/rwjf70448
Access to healthcare: Lack of health insurance coverage among Wisconsin adults ages 18-64, by household income, 2008-2011 60% 50% Low income (<$20,000) Middle income ($20,000-$74,999) High income ($75,000+) 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 34% 16% 4% No health insurance coverage, ages 18-64 Source: Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS); 2008-2011 landline-only dataset. 28
Chronic Diseases: Age-adjusted rates of heart attack and stroke among Wisconsin adults, by household income, 2008-2011 10% Low income (<$20,000) Middle income ($20,000-$74,999) High income ($75,000+) 5% 0% 7% 3% 3% 5% 2% 2% Ever had a heart attack 29 Ever had a stroke Source: Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Behavioral Risk Factor Survey (BRFS); 2008-2011 landline-only dataset.
Wisconsin Rejection of Enhanced Medicaid Dollars Leaves over 84,000 without Affordable Health Care 30
Education 31
Vocabulary 1200 Wealthy CHILD S CUMULATIVE VOCABULARY 1000 800 600 400 Middle Class Low Income 200 0 Age of Child (in months) 32 Hart & Risley, 1995
Source: Hansen et al (2013) PLoS One http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131211183752.htm
Students Not Graduating With a Regular Diploma in Four Years
Wisconsin state school spending plummets to 17 year low--biggest cuts to high poverty districts
Racial Disparities in Incarceration 36
Juvenile Arrest Rates
Adult Arrests
What beliefs get in the way of addressing the challenge of poverty? We Don t Have Enough Money Raising wage floor harms the economy Its no longer possible to solve big social problems Personal vs. Systems perspective of social & economic issues 39
American Poverty Ideology Anyone can make it (American Dream) Faith in markets to distribute resources to the most deserving Doing harm by doing good (Dependency) Poor are personally responsible for their condition Deservedness Contingent on work Contingent on behavior
Common Beliefs about Poor People Poor people are different from the rest of us Poor people are lazy Poor people exploit the system Poor people make irresponsible decisions
Roles It Takes All Of Us Individuals Families Private Sector Public Sector Non-profit Sector Faith Communities 42
The only way to dramatically reduce poverty is to exercise the moral agency of our democracy Bold measures are needed to reverse the poverty and rising inequality Must combine reform of the private economy with a substantial investment in social safety net and education (2 Generation Approach) The voices of our moral leaders must he heard.
The End 44
Martin Luther King: Imaginary Letter from the Apostle Paul The misuse of Capitalism can also lead to tragic exploitation. They tell me that one tenth of one percent of the population controls more than forty percent of the wealth. Oh America, how often have you taken necessities from the masses to give luxury to the classes. If you are to be a truly Christian nation you must solve this problem. 45
Pope Francis Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. Poverty today is a cry. 46
Sampling of Policy Prescriptions Support working families Immediately Health care Raise the minimum wage Family leave/ paid sick days Support early learning Build the skills and education of Wisconsin s workforce Invest in bold economic strategies to open opportunity and restore economic mobility Make state taxes more equal across income groups Earned Income Tax Credit 47