“Our
nation, so richly endowed with natural resources and with the capable and industrious
population, should be able to devise ways and means of insuring to all our able-bodied
men and women, a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.” -President Franklin Roosevelt
(1937)
Many
individuals are working for a living but are not receiving a living wage in
return for their work. Today, minimum
wage is no longer a “living wage.” The other
grim reality is that many Americans are working and still living at or below
the poverty line. According to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the “working poor” are individuals who spent at
least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work) but incomes still
fell below the official poverty. Out of
the 46.2 million individuals who were living below the poverty line, 10. 4
million individuals are among the working poor.
The notion that an individual can work full-time and still remain under
the poverty line is something I just cannot fathom. This blog explores who are the working poor,
what is being done behind closed doors, and what the some solutions and
considerations.
Who
are the working poor?
There appears to be a type of profile
of the working poor, when you examine the statistics and research side by side. Although, some argue that the concept of poverty
is gender-less, race-less, age-less, etc.
I would argue that there appears to be groups and subgroups that are
most affected by poverty and considered the working poor.
Gender and Race: Women were more
likely than men to be among the working poor (5.5 million vs. 4.9 million).
Blacks and Hispanics were more likely than Asians and Whites to be among the
working poor. In 2011, 13.3 percent of
blacks and 12.9 percent of Hispanics were among the working poor compared to
6.1 percent of whites.
Age: Young workers are
more likely to be poor than are workers in older age groups. This is in part because earnings are lower
for younger workers, and the unemployment rate for young workers is higher
Education
& Occupation: Individuals who complete more years of education
usually have a greater access to higher paying jobs than those with fewer years
of education. Despite having a college
degree, 2.4 percent of college graduates were classified as the working
poor. Also, due to the scarcity of jobs,
many college graduates are taking jobs that only require a high school
diploma. I would argue that this greatly
affects individuals who are not as skilled or experienced because it takes jobs
away from them. The likelihood of being
among the working poor was lower for individuals employed in management,
professional, and related occupations than those employed in lower skilled
positions. For example: cashiers, food
preparation and service workers, and personal home care aides.
Families: Among families with
at least on family member under the age of 18 years old were about 4 times more
likely than those without children to live in poverty. Families maintained by women were more likely
than families maintained by men to be living below the poverty level.
What is being done
behind closed doors?
There are a lot of things that are
going unnoticed or are not talked about in the general public, which is one of
the major issues. First, working poor go
without many of the things that their counterparts have. According to the United States Department of
Labor, about 12 percent of the working have health care. 12 percent of the
working poor have retirement benefits, less than 25 percent get paid sick leave,
less than 50 percent get paid vacation.
Second, workers are not fully getting paid for all of their work. Many low wage workers have part of their
earnings stolen by their employers. For
example, not being paid full minimum wage, not being paid overtime, and stealing
from tipped employees.
What are some solutions
and considerations?
There
have been many solutions and considerations presented by various individuals on
both the economic side and education side.
Some individuals propose that the government subsidizes the incomes of
low-wage workers. Some individuals
propose that the government subsidizes the incomes of low wage workers BUT the
subsidies are financed by taxing those companies that hire low-wage workers. Dr. Amy Glasmeier of Penn State University even
went as far as proposing a Living Wage Calculator. This calculator estimates the hourly wage needed
to pay the cost of living for low wage families in the United States. On the education side, some individuals propose
creating education programs that help individuals attain higher education and
skills.
Finding
and proposing a solution is one area of this subject that I continue to
struggle with. I do not know how exactly
to fix the issues of the working poor but I do know that it is something that
needs addressed. Many individuals would
argue that our nation is a nation that values the work done by its citizens. It is imperative that we dedicate the time
and effort in helping the working poor and making work pay. By not addressing this problem, some
individuals and families are stalled and restricted to low wage jobs that
provide little opportunity for advancement.
