Opinion: Despite Golden States Immense Wealth, Millions Remain Stuck In Poverty

© Courtesy The Times of San Diego A woman walks past an unconscious man on a sidewalk in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. Reuters/Shannon Stapleton

As if need be, California was once again reminded Tuesday that despite its crushing wealth, it is home to millions of families struggling every day to keep a roof over their heads and food on their stomachs.

United Ways of California has released its latest poverty analysis, which shows that 34% of households in the state do not have enough income to cover basic living expenses because those expenses, particularly for housing, are too high.

The forecasts are based on data from 2021, but there is no reason to believe that the situation has improved significantly since then.

The federal government's official poverty statistics are based solely on income, and by this method, the poverty rate in California is not very high. But the US Census Bureau also has alternative measures that include the cost of living and generally ranks California at or near the highest poverty level of any state.

The United Way method is similar to the Census Bureau's alternative measure of poverty and the Public Policy Institute of California's poverty and near-poverty calculations. The poverty rate of 34 percent is also consistent with the 15 million Californians who receive health care through the state's Medi-Cal program.

So in a way, the United Ways report is just telling us what we already know. However, its interactive features provide important insights into which communities and which demographic subgroups may be facing the greatest economic pressures in the world's fifth and possibly fourth largest economy.

For example, it finds that rural counties and large urban areas are most affected by poverty and that 51% of Latin American household incomes are below the “real cost measure” of what is needed to cover basic living expenses, which is higher. an ethnic group.

Additionally, 68% of Californians without a high school diploma live in poverty, as do 70% of single mothers and 57% of immigrants without citizenship.

The United Ways report implicitly asks again what California's political apparatus can do about high levels of poverty, since the high cost of living - particularly the cost of housing - is a factor, not low income.

The high cost of housing is due to the state's chronic housing shortage, and while housing construction has surged recently, it's still a long way from the 180,000 units per year needed to fill the gap.

The state has made some significant efforts to build housing, primarily by removing local development barriers. His main approach to poverty alleviation, however, was to increase household incomes through temporary programs such as increasing welfare payments, raising the minimum wage, and expanding health care. . It offers child care and childcare, as well as tax credits for earned income and direct cash payments.

However, this is typically a short-term marginal benefit that depends on erratic government revenue streams rather than sustained revenue support. There have been several efforts across the country to create guaranteed basic income programs to lift low-income families out of poverty, but the potential costs are significant.

According to the United Ways survey, 3.8 million families live below the "real cost measure" of a decent standard of living and typically need about $40,000 more in annual income to make ends meet. Thus, providing additional revenue would cost about $150 billion, an increase of about 50% over the country's $300 billion budget.

That will not happen.

If California policymakers are to take poverty seriously rather than engage in superficial charity, they must become more enthusiastic - even mischievous - about removing barriers to housing, correcting educational deficits, and acknowledging the state for the investments they create to make it more attractive. work. Fire the employer instead.

CalMatters is a public interest news initiative that explains how the California State Capitol works and why it matters.

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