Contrary to the belief of many in our society,
poverty is not the result of laziness. Rather, a study published recently
by the Heartland Alliance Mid-America Institute on Poverty finds that
disability, job loss, earnings decline, having children, not finishing high
school and living in a female-headed household are most likely to push to
people into poverty.
Factors most contributing to these events include
living in high-poverty neighborhoods, experiencing violence, incarceration,
working less than full time, discrimination, teen births, wage declines and
holding low-wage jobs, the study concludes. The current state of the U.S.
economy only exacerbates the problem, says Heartland Alliance senior
research analyst Amy Terpstra.
“We’re all feeling the pinch.
What’s really important is that these economic conditions hit the
poor first and it hits them the hardest,” she says. According to the
study:
— Nearly 20 percent of people enter poverty
when the head of household loses employment.
— When a head of household becomes disabled,
6.5 percent of households enter poverty.
— Half of poverty spells begin with a decline
in household earnings.
— Individuals in households headed by someone
who did not complete high school face a higher likelihood of living in
poverty.
— When a two-adult household becomes a
female-headed household, 20.1 percent enter poverty.
— 8.6 percent of poverty entries occur when a
child is born into a household.
Heartland Alliance’s newest study builds upon
the organization’s annual Illinois poverty survey, released earlier
this year, which provides an overview of the “unique moment of
barriers and opportunities” in Illinois with respect to poverty in
the state.
Specifically, write Terpstra and co-author Amy
Rynell, “A moment when the state of Illinois holds the distinction of
having the worst budget deficit in the nation for four years running. Yet
it is also moment when people across the United States are talking about
poverty as a threat to their well-being, when leaders are proposing
solutions and when communities are taking important steps to decrease
hardship.”
Heartland Alliance researchers determined that 11
percent of Sangamon County’s population lives in poverty, which is up
1 percent from the previous year, according to 2005 U.S. Census
information. The 2008 poverty report also finds that 17 percent of people
under the age of 18 and more than 20,000 people total are poor in Sangamon
County — one of 11 Illinois counties with 20,000 or more
individuals living in poverty. In addition, the county’s 2007
unemployment rate of 5 percent also represents a slight increase over 2006.
However the study does contain some positive news for
Sangamon County. The birthrate among teenagers, for example, is on the
decline while the rate of high school graduation, overall and among the
poor, has risen.
Other statewide findings include 1.5 million
Illinoisans living in poverty, with 686,00 living in “the most
extreme or dire form” of poverty, and more than a half-million
Illinois children in poverty. In addition, the purchasing power of
Illinoisans has decreased over the past six years and while statewide
median incomes declined $1,547 between 2001 and 2005, the prices of
gasoline, energy, medical care, food, housing and education rose sharply in
that timeframe.
Heartland Alliance researchers conclude that poor
families pay a tax rate of 2.7 times more than the top 1 percent of income
earners and estimate that 87,918 homes in the state will be lost due to
subprime loan foreclosures. Women, children, Latinos, African-Americans,
immigrants and people with disabilities face the greatest risk of being in
poverty, researchers say.
Despite acknowledging the state’s
worst-in-the-nation budget deficit, the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance
has asked Gov. Rod Blagojevich to restore funding cuts to service agencies
that work with the poor. But they applaud Blagojevich’s establishment
of a state Commission on the Elimination of Poverty in August. “The
bottom line is that if we’re not looking out for those who are most
in need, then we all suffer.”
Contact R.L. Nave at rnave@illinoistimes.com
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2008.
