I watched the Democratic presidential debate this week, and Hillary Clinton was the clear winner. But that’s like being valedictorian in summer school. What I found most interesting in the debate was the discussion on poverty. All the candidates said the government needs to do more about poverty. I agree, but not in the way Democrats suggest.
For example, when it comes to poverty, we are doing quite a bit already. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2014 the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. That was 2.3 percent higher than in 2007, the year before the last Great Recession. In 1964, when the “War on Poverty” began, the poverty rate was about 19 percent, so as a percentage of our population, the poverty rates have been going down for the past 50 years.
But let’s take this a step further; as much as we fret over poverty, you have to keep things in perspective, because if you’re going to live in poverty, the United States of America is the best place to do it. Here’s why: First of all, to be considered living below the poverty line, a family of four has to make a little more than $24,000. However, to become “un poor,” the folks at the Southern Law Poverty Center say families needs to make about $38,000 (that includes money spent on housing and child care). So if the family of four makes $24,000, but needs to make $38,000, then someone has to come up with an additional $14,000 annually.
Now here is where it gets interesting.
When we calculate poverty and income, we don’t include all the free stuff poor people get courtesy of your tax dollars. We don’t include Medicaid, rent subsidies for those living in Section 8 housing, food stamps, financial aid for college and other such benefits. You throw that into the mix, and now we’re looking at an entirely different financial picture.
In 2013, we spent about $175 billion on anti-poverty related programs. Now here is where we have to do some math. There about 46.7 million people living in poverty in America. And we’re already spending $175 billion, which means we spend an average of $3,800 per person. Now, let’s go back to our family of four. Remember, they needed an additional $14,000 annually to live above poverty. So take that $3,800 x 4 and you get $15,200. Take $15,200 – $14,000 and you get an additional $1,200. So not only do we spend enough for the family of four to not be in poverty, but they also have enough left over to take a weekend vacation somewhere, as long as they don’t travel too far and stay in a cheap hotel.
Now I know this is the part where a lot of you are screaming because you can’t believe what you’re reading. But let’s go a step further. A lot of people wouldn’t find themselves in poverty if they made better lifestyle choices. The Brookings Institute made this very clear when it outlined how to stay out of poverty in three simple steps: 1. Finish high school; 2. Wait until you’re 21 to get married and don’t have children unless you’re married; 3. Have a full-time job. You do that and your chances of living in poverty are about 2 percent, and your chances of having a middle-class lifestyle are about 74 percent. Don’t believe me? Then why is the poverty rate for married couples less than 6 percent, but for single mothers it hovers around 30 percent?
So if we want to have a discussion about poverty in America, let’s do so by all means. But if you think spending more money is the answer, when we really need to take a close look at the behavior that makes people poor, then perhaps there’s a place in summer school for you.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz is an attorney, political commentator and publisher of IndyPolitics.org. You can email comments to him at abdul@indypolitics.org.
