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University of Utah
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The Poverty Line Illusion
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The Problems and Misconceptions of Utah’s Poverty
Line
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Ami Jo
Curtis
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11/18/2015
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Utah’s
poverty rate is climbing, access to nutrition, healthcare and daily
necessities are getting harder for the average middle class American. Why?
Is our perception of the poverty line outdated? Should all working
American’s have a right to healthcare? What is an acceptable standard of
living? These thoughts are not just important to visit but vital to
understanding the welfare of the American people.
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The Poverty Line Illusion
The Problems and Misconceptions with Utah’s
Poverty Line
The United States
most delicate population is the one that is living in absolute poverty. The
numbers are ravenous and contain past leaders in our military, children and
those who have physical or mental illnesses that used to be great beneficiaries
to our workforce but were neglected by the system. These numbers are alarming and heart breaking.
What is terrifying
is the magnitude of the population which sits just above them in our economic
system right at, or right below the poverty line. These individuals are a part
of a dangerous population because they are one illness, car accident, or job
loss away from joining those in absolute poverty. Both of these populations
need help in order to give them a chance to better their circumstances.
For those in
absolute poverty they must jump through almost impossible hoops to gain
benefits needed to improve their quality of life, overcoming despair, so that
they can become self-sustaining members of society. While those at the poverty
line struggle even more to find affordable housing or healthcare because they
make too little to sustain themselves but make too much for government
assistance like the Affordable Care Act and Medicare.
SETTING THE POVERTY LINE
The first official
organizing of setting the poverty line happened in the United States in the
1960’s by Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration.
National statistic agencies are used in the
development of measuring poverty. In most countries a national poverty line is
set, but in America it is more common for states to set their own line. Just as
it is important not to compare America’s poverty line it is also important not
to compare the rural poverty line of Wyoming to that of New York City.
States assess
where the poverty line should be set by making a calculation of the cost of a
minimum set of basic needs for families or an individual, composed of food
needs and other essential non-food needs like housing, clothing, education and
transportation. The composition of what is called a food basket is usually
determined by considering the prevailing dietary habits within the country.
This can be worrisome because they shouldn’t consider the dietary habits of the
country but rather what the dietary habits should be of the country. Those in
poverty get very little nutrition and many believe this outlook is to blame.
The rest of the non-food essentials are determined and depend on a variety of social
cultural, institutional, political, economic, climatic and development factors.
The setting of the
poverty line is essential. Those below the poverty line are eligible for
government assistance, where those above the line are deemed self-sustainable.
They in theory have enough funds to take care of themselves financially. The
idea is that although money is tight they still have enough to maintain a good
quality of life, afford healthcare and save for a rainy day.
The poverty line
is a very controversial issue. Some
countries have even opted not to set one due to a lack of national consensus.
There are many disagreements on how a normal standard of living should be
viewed because it treats unique families with individual needs as if they are
all the same across the population. This is dangerous because although the
standard of living may be just fine for many households other households are in
danger because of a myriad of different unclassified reasons.
In 2012 Cathy
McKitrick of the Salt Lake Tribune, did a story of how fickle expenses can be.
She reported on the financial crisis in Washington County, Utah. St. George was
one of the fastest growing cities in America with a huge housing boom. A national financial crisis influenced a
steep decline in production and many people in construction and businesses that
were supported by the housing boom went under. Families that were otherwise
financially stable were now living in poverty and even homeless.
McKitrick
interviewed Terry Haven, the Utah Director of KIDS COUNT; a Baltimore based nonprofit
private philanthropy children’s advocacy organization. They advocate for
children throughout the country including Utah. She stated, “Many of our middle
class were just a paycheck away from disaster-and then we had a disaster. We
know that 56,000 kids in Utah were affected by home foreclosures.”
If members of the
middle class are just a paycheck away from not being able to make their house
payment, then what about those just above the poverty line? How can they be
better protected? Those on the poverty line are too poor for loans, so they are
stuck renting. Also, for many families, being covered by insurance is extremely
difficult. Without help from an employer
many barely qualify for public insurance under the Affordable Care Act or not
at all.
These situations demonstrate
that the poverty line is set too low. If families can’t self-sustain themselves
that means they obviously are in need of extra help or improved access when it
comes to healthcare. To claim these families are too wealthy to receive that
help demonstrates there remains a deficiency
in the system.
WHERE IS THE APPROPRIATE POVERTY LINE?
On January 22,
2015, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) poverty guidelines were
published by the federal register. They placed the poverty line for a family of
four at $36,375.00 annually. To see if this was an appropriate measure of
self-sustainability, I gathered data to see how much a family of four would
need in order to live a stable quality of life in Utah.
Online Social Media Survey
Before I began,
to make sure there wasn’t a bias, I wanted to find a consensus among a sampling
of Utahan’s to obtain a general perspective of what the public deems as needs
as opposed to wants. I conducted a survey over social media of the following
questions:
·
How many pairs of pants do you buy (that you
need) for you and your partner each year? If you don't have a partner times the
number of pants you buy yourself by 2.
·
How many Shirts do you buy (that you need) for
you and your partner each year? If you don't have a partner times the number of
shirts you buy yourself by 2.
·
On average how often do you buy your children
shoes (that they need.) If you have no children put NA.
·
How often do you by your children clothes (that
they need)? If you have no children put NA.
·
Are cell phones a necessity for adults and
children?
o Yes
o No
o Adults
only
o Adults
and teens
·
Is cable TV a necessity for families?
o Yes
o No
·
Is Internet a necessity for families?
o Yes
o No
·
Is it important to have a car for every working
member of the home to have a good quality of life.
o Yes
o No
·
Is having a pet that costs over $50 a year
necessary to have or improve your quality of life?
o Yes
o No
·
This is a survey for the University of Utah Social
Work Program to help determine where the Poverty Line should be set. This
means, how much money should a family of four make per year to live a good,
financially stable quality of life. Right now in the state of Utah, the poverty
line is set at $36,375 for a family of 4. Is this acceptable? Is this too high
or too low? Explain why.
·
Do you have anything to add or get off your
chest when it comes to the poverty line or obtaining benefits?
The results of
the survey showed that the average household needs 5.1 pairs of pants and 5
shirts per couple, each year. Children needed new clothes seasonally on average
but only needed new shoes twice a year. Cell phones are considered a necessity with
54% believing teenagers also should have phones and 20% thought it appropriate
for children to own one. 93% of those polled found cable TV unnecessary. However, 82% found the internet important in
the household. 59% of those surveyed
feel it isn’t important that every working member of the home have a car. 70% felt pets were not necessary in order to
have a good quality of life.
When asked if
$36,375 dollars was acceptable as the poverty line for a family of four these
were some of the following responses:
“Too low for a family of four to live without state assistance they
would need more like $45,000”
“This
seems a bit high if your family of four includes small children , but makes
more sense if you consider 2 adults and 2 teens or older kids, so acceptable.”
“It
seems about right I think. Our income is close to $50,000 with a family of 5
and it is tight but we are also able to enjoy a lot of things outside our basic
necessities.”
“Too
high. I am the head of a family of 4 and 36k is more than plenty to live a
comfortable life if you budget and plan accordingly. I think this year I am set
to earn 30k and we own our home and live comfortably.”
“Too low. It's hard to live on that. It’s doable, but it’s rough.”
“When
my husband was going through school we lived on smaller means, than this, but
it was tight. We ate like college kids, and didn't have insurance. We couldn’t
afford to go to the dentist etc. So I would say it should be raised a few
thousand dollars for benefits etc.”
“Too
low. My family of 4 makes slightly more and struggle a lot with finances. We
don’t spend much money and we don’t have expensive things. But with bills and
children and gas we still struggle and often fall behind on bills”
“just right”
“$36k
is barely enough for a single person to live a quality life without cutting
costs like having roommates. If a whole family is subsisting on that little,
should they be required to have strangers in their home to be able to cover
rent? Additionally, there are new requirements on things such as health
insurance; the fees for not insuring your entire family would be high, and the
cost of insuring them even higher. I think a family of 4 on anything under $50k
a year is ridiculous, short-sighted, and archaic for the current cost of living
in Utah.”
“No way. You live in poverty even at 50,000 a year for a family of 4.”
“That seems fair.”
“I
think it could be acceptable if families only had the necessities, but it would
be difficult to save money and provide and plan for a better future.”
“That's higher than I thought it would be.”
ANDERSON FAMILY FINANCIALS
For writing
purposes I have named my fictional family of four “The Anderson’s.” This family is comprised of a husband 34 years
old, wife 33, daughter 8, son 3. Both parents work full time, while the
daughter goes to school and afterschool daycare; the youngest is in daycare
full time. Keep in mind a lot of this data are averages from different
locations from around the state. Or from a survey of people who are mainly from
the St. George and Wasatch front areas. Averages change from city to city for
instance; some area’s childcare will be much more expensive than other areas.
Unfortunately this is a circumstance the family cannot control. Advocating for
families that need to deal with much needed items such as these may come up
when working with individual cases.
Housing
Housing and
shelter are vital to a person’s survival and quality of life this is echoed by
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. When searching for a place to live, people will
often sacrifice size and amenities for safety of the neighborhood. It echoed
this in the research; finding the family a safe home in a nice neighborhood
while sacrificing space. Realistically, renting is easier than buying. Although
you do lose the chance to build equity which some would argue makes renting a poor
financial idea. However, in 2012 it was found more families had to rent than
buy because they simply weren’t approved. Following this trend I chose a
rental.
The Stratton apartments
are in Sterling Village, 11065S Sterling View Dr., South Jordan, Utah. It was
chosen because it had attached parking garage, cooling, forced air heating,
washer and dryer hook up in the apartment, and amenities such as a fitness
center, pool, hot tub, sauna etc. It was
compared to many other complexes in the valley and at only $0.93 a square foot
it was the cheapest for the quality it presented. It’s located near I-15, UTA
Front Runner Park and Ride, and 1.8 miles from South Jordan Elementary School.
Compared to other locations in South Jordan, Riverton, and Herriman, this was
the best choice. Families do not need a pool, fitness center etc. but it was
included in the package for the same price as other apartments that didn’t have
those amenities.
Cost of rent is $1,199 month,
$14,388 year. There are no real estate taxes, and according to the property
manager. Water and sewer is approximatelyor
$200 year. Heat and electricity is about $80 month, $960 year; therefore, the yearly
total for living on the property $15,548.
Communication
According to the
survey, 95% of people believe that cell phones are a necessity. 20% believe everyone in the family should
have a phone, 34% think only the adults and teens should; and 41% believe that
only adults should have cell phones. The consensus was children didn’t need
phones because they aren’t as independent as teenagers. Many parents who have
young children and spend their days at daycare do want their kids to have a way
to contact them in case something happens and have to find a way to afford a
cell phone for the children. The best option for the Anderson family is a prepaid
shared family plan. The plan includes two Verizon GizmoPal’s for the children.
GizmoPal’s are durable watches that have GPS. They also have the ability to
call two preprogramed phone numbers; also four preprogramed numbers are able to
call into the watch. The phone plans for the parents consist of unlimited talk
and test with Wi-Fi data only The adult lines are each $30 a month and $360 a year,
where the children’s watches are each $10 month and $120 a year; making the
yearly total $960.
In the 1990’s and
even 2000’s internet wasn’t seen as a need.
However, with schools more dependent on using the internet for
educational and communication purposes, along with more people working from
home, it is now essential. This was mirrored in our survey with 82% saying that
internet is a necessity in the home while only 18% did not. The average
internet bill in Utah contains 10 Mbps, unlimited data, cable/ADSL and is
around $41.60month; and $499.20 a year.
The survey found
that a resounding 93% of people believe that cable or satellite television is
not a necessity for families.
The total spent on
communication and technology each year for the Anderson family is $1459.20.
Food
Nutrition is the
most neglected costing element when it comes to the poor. Cheap foods are over
processed, sugar filled, easy to mass produce meals. The Food Ethics Council
contributes this food that most affordable for the poor as the contributor to
the rise in heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer. This means, the
poverty class is the least likely to be able to take care of themselves when it
comes to personal wellness and is most at risk. This simply needs to be a
change.
I planned out
three meals a day for 7 days. Breakfast and lunch I made inexpensive and simple
meals, and did sacrifice some nutrition; but still made sure they had some
vegetables. When it came to dinner, I
made sure they had a well-balanced meal with plenty of produce, lean meats, etc.
For a two month period I priced checked each item at various grocery stores around
Herriman, Utah, establishing an average price for each item. The total of one
month worth of groceries came out to be $353.87. This averages out to be $88.47 a week for the
family of four. This left a yearly total of $4,246.44.
Clothing
I referred back on
the survey to find out how often the average Utahan bought clothes, and
specifically what items. The results were quite interesting. I made sure to
emphasize that it was only how many clothes they needed, not wanted. I was still shocked by the answers. Some
needed several new outfits while other needed none. After taking those averages I looked around
and averaged the price of pants, plain t-shirts, business wear, underwear,
bras, socks and shoes. Walmart, Target, Old Navy, and Kohl’s were my three
locations. I focused only on sales. I made sure I bought clothes for the
parents that would be good for work and casual since they were tight on cash.
The following
prices are how much it would take overall to clothe that individual each year:
Husband: $190
Wife: $206
Daughter: $165.50
Son: 125.99
Total yearly clothes allowance: 687.49
Insurance
Since insurance is
hard to estimate I asked five families how much their life, car, medical and
renters insurance was and averaged the total. I compared these prices with
estimates I found onlineand feel comfortable about the following total:
Life: $230 Month, $2760 year
Car: About $170 Month, $2040 year
Renter’s insurance: $10 Month, $100 year
Medical: $4160 year
Medical Expenses
Polling five families and using them as a reference of
how many times a family of four would go to the doctors each year and averaged
out the numbers. If the Anderson’s were like these families, they would need to
go on average to the doctors 8 times in one year, 6 visits to the dentist, 3
visits to the eye doctor.
Using those same families as references for co-pays and
average visit an estimate on how much the Andersons would spend yearly on
doctor visits and prescriptions was derived. The average doctor visit comes 8
times a year for a family of four and is $20 per visit. The Anderson’s visit
the dentist 6 times throughout the year and it is free for preventative care,
eye doctors 3 visits at $30 a visit; and prescriptions are about $35 a
month. Therefore the total for doctors’
visits and prescriptions is $670 yearly.
Child Care
In 2014, the Boston Globe did an evaluation of childcare
throughout the United States in an effort to advocate for better childcare
while keeping it affordable to families. They found the average in Utah for
full time child care three year old was $7,860 a year, and 8 year olds were
$5,280. This makes a shocking grand total of $13,140 for childcare alone. Since
the Anderson’s 8 year old son goes to school part time we will cut the $5,280
in half to $2640 a year. This makes the Anderson’s childcare bill $10,500 a
year.
Transportation
The survey showed that 59% believed a car for every working member of
the home was not needed. Therefore the
Anderson’s have one family care and a really old vehicle only used on weekends.
One spouse will spend $82.75 month, $993 yearly on a UTA public transportation
pass.
According to bankrate.com the average Utahan and there for the Anderson’s
spend the following for transportation fees on their cars:
Car Payments: $2,098
Gas: $1224
Maintenance: $742
Taxes: $192.5
Public Transportation:
Monthly Pass (Regular Price): $82.75 Month $993 Yearly
Transportation Total: $5249.5
Charity
According to a 2014 Gallop Poll Utahan’s are most likely
to donate more time and money than any other state. I couldn’t find any data on
exact figures so I polled five lower income families of varying faiths and
asked them how much they donate to charities and their church each year. Their average total for charity was around
$95 a year in monetary gifts. School parties, bake sales, cub scouts, about $50
and on average they gave about $2,200 a year to their church in cash donations.
Durables
Furniture and appliances break about once every 4-10
years based on the type of equipment, it’s important to put money away each
month so when that time comes you have money to cover the purchase. In effort
to save for this rainy day I added a $40 a month to the budget to save for that
time.
Personal
The average student leaves college with about $25,000 in
student loan debt. The monthly payment on a $25,000 student loan is
approximately $280 (assuming 6.8% interest and a 10-year repayment plan), which
can cause financial strain if you're not prepared for it.
Magazines are a nonessential item so there is no budget
for them. $30 a month for entertainment isn’t a lot but there are so many free
events found in Utah I found it a reasonable amount. A budget for $25 a month
to be set aside for gifts and $49 for personal hygiene was estimated while
shopping for food. This leaves the total for personal items at $4,608 a year.
Miscellaneous
Items can pop up unexpectedly sometimes so I added $10
to the budget for each family member every month. It may not seem like much but
it adds up quickly to $480 a year.
Final Total
This leaves the grand total at $50,433.63 a year spent
for the Anderson family. That is $14,058.63over
the poverty line.
WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN?
This demonstrates the poverty line where it is at is significantly
lower than what would be considered a very restrictive budget. In order to
reach the goal of living with only $36,375, the Anderson’s would have to go
without proper nutrition, healthcare, and/or childcare. Those are three things
someone should not have to live without.
If you notice, the budget left little room for extravagances. Small
apartment, with the two children sharing a room even though they are of
opposite sexes. Many would argue the
children old enough and require their own room.
This restrictive budget has no savings set aside for vacations or extracurricular activities such
as sports or dance classes. There was no
budget for cigarettes or alcohol. These are all items that many families would
see as needs and would be willing to sacrifice many necessities to maintain. If
any great family crisis happened such as an illness or job loss, they wouldn’t
have the funds to care for themselves; and this is all with a budget that is
over what is considered the standard of living right now.
It is simply not acceptable. That is why the poverty
line needs to be raised or there needs to be more accommodations accessible to
these individuals in terms of nutrition, healthcare, and childcare. This
population is considered “the working poor.” A term that used defines those who fall below
the poverty line. Yet it is becoming increasingly more apparent that those just
above the line are also dealing with the exact same hardships. They are not the
one’s abusing welfare programs or being a burden on the system. They are hardworking
American’s who are just asking for improved access to the safety net when it
comes to healthcare and putting a healthy meal on the table. They are
invaluable to our workforce, doing the small jobs that keep the big machine
moving, and they are getting sicker, all because they don’t have access to that
which is rightfully theirs because of politics and small businesses that are
unable to meet increasing costs of healthcare.
The declared poverty line is set much lower than the
poverty class of our society. The majority of those who live on this line are
young families and students. As the
middle class disappears the poverty line is becoming even more dense with baby
boomers who have inadequate savings, and divorce’ single mothers just trying to
survive one day at a time.
It’s time to reevaluate our position, stand up for the
working class, and help give benefits to those hard working American’s so they
don’t keep slipping further and further down the poverty scale.
CONCLUSION
For a family of four, the poverty line needs to be set
between 50,000-60,000 for a Utah family depending, if they live in the rural
areas or city. Taking into account the area where the family lives is
important. If public transportation isn’t available than cars no longer become
a desired item but a needed one. If it is a highly populated area housing will
be more expensive. If people have a credited mental or physical disability
should they have a different poverty line than the rest of the population?
Raising the poverty line is the best way for a family to
survive with decency, dignity, and as full participating members of society.
Any family that falls under 50k deserves to be advocated for especially in
terms of getting them the right healthcare, shelter and nutrition they
need.
In the scheme of things 50k does seem like a lot. A lot of good qualified professionals make
that or just under each year. However, when chaos may arise from life’s perils
it is not a stable income. Raising the
poverty level or allowing stronger advocating for those that are just above is
essential to the growth of society.
References
U.S.
Census Bureau, “Definition of income and Poverty terms-Poverty Definition,”
(Retrieved November10,2015) From
http://www.census.gove/hhes/income/defs/poverty.html
Wages,
benefits, Poverty Line, and Meeting Workers' Needs in the Apparel and Foot wear
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Iv-Iv.
McKitrick,
C. (2012, September 26). Utah's poverty rate climbs to 13.5 percent of
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McCarthy,
J. (2014, May 8). Utahns Most Likely to Donate Money and Time. Retrieved
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