Poverty's glass is not half-full
LAST WEEK, the US Census Bureau released seemingly good news. According to a new report that compares 2005 and 2006, poverty rates are down, and median household incomes are up. A pleased White House issued a statement from President Bush saying this "confirms that more of our citizens are doing better in this economy." But a closer look at the report shows that poverty persists, and that only some people are doing better.
Take median household income. It has increased to $48,201, but there is a troubling division along racial lines. The incomes of white households went up, but only by 1.1 percent. For African-American, Hispanic, and Asian households, there has been no statistically significant change in income.
And while the poverty rate fell, only Hispanics saw a statistically significant decrease. For whites, African-Americans, and Asians, poverty levels remained largely the same.
Children are also stuck in a rut. Their rate of poverty remains statistically unchanged at 17.4 percent, some 12.8 million children. And youngsters also lost ground on health insurance: from 2005 to 2006, the number of children without coverage grew by 611,000.
In Massachusetts, income levels remain stagnant, according to an analysis of census data done by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, which notes that "despite the ongoing national economic recovery, the median household income in Massachusetts. . . has not made any real gains, either over the course of the past year or since the recovery began."
Supplementing the Census figures are the facts of daily life: families that struggle to pay bills, rising personal debt, and high-skill jobs that go unfilled because companies can't find qualified workers.
Legislators have to figure out how to respond. In his statement, President Bush calls for encouraging workers to buy private health insurance by making it more affordable. A better idea would be for Bush to drop his threat to veto an expansion of the children's health insurance program, S-Chip.
Mounting another war on poverty could easily trigger a jaded reaction. But a war for higher wages might get traction. This battle would send more students to college and help more workers modernize their skills to increase their earnings. Poor children and their families would get increased attention, more help with education, jobs, financial literacy, and health insurance to ensure that children can compete successfully in school and later in the workforce.
The country's 21st-century economy is moving ahead, while many families are stuck with 20th-century problems. Small policy fixes won't do. It will take a comprehensive effort to ensure that general economic growth has a positive impact on more families.
