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Other articles in Part 2
Why are some people unable to earn a living?
Poverty research
Education plays key role in poverty
Graph: Full-time minimum wage falls below poverty line
Related links
Poverty research
story by Andy Duncan
What is research telling us about poverty in Oregon?
Sally Bowman, a family development specialist with the OSU Extension Service, responds to that question by pointing to "Poverty in Oregon: Myths and Realities," a synthesis of research prepared by a team of social scientists, public officials and professionals from local and state agencies and private organizations.
Some excerpts from the report:
Myth: Welfare causes poverty.
Finding: Most people who are poor do not receive cash assistance from the government. According to updated information from the Oregon Department of Human Services, less than 12 percent of the more than 400,000 Oregonians in poverty today receive Temporary Aid to Needy Families payments.
Myth: Welfare is a result of having too many children.
Finding: The average size of poor families is about the same as the average non-poor family, and family size has been going down. Studies show little evidence of a link between higher welfare benefits and having more children
Myth: People are poor because they refuse to work.
Finding: The majority of Oregonians in poverty work. At least one parent works in almost 70 percent of poor families with children. (The publication goes on to say that for the working poor, part-time, temporary and low-wage work does not pay enough to support their families above the poverty line.)
A short article in the report addresses the question "Why don't these people pull themselves up by their bootstraps, just like I did?"
"Earlier in our century," the article says, "the routes up and out of poverty were imperfect, but they were plentiful. Most poor and otherwise disadvantaged families lived in an environment that provided day-to-day evidence that hard work, ambition and perseverance brought rewards-reflecting in large part the expanding demands for unskilled labor."
According to the article, changes in the economy in recent decades have made it harder for workers with few or obsolete skills to earn enough to keep their families out of poverty. Examples of these economic changes are the downturn of the forest products industry and the rapid expansion of lower wage, service jobs.
In 1996, a voter-passed initiative approved several increases in the state minimum wage, taking it from $4.75 a hour in 1997 to $6.50 an hour in 1999 (the federal minimum wage is $5.15 per hour). How has this affected poverty?
"Data through the first quarter of 1999 show that the fully phased-in increase has reversed years of declining wages for welfare recipients and other low-wage workers," says the executive summary of a report by Jeff Thompson of the Oregon Center for Public Policy in Silverton, which conducts poverty-related research.
But a full-time job at the minimum wage doesn't necessarily stave off poverty. For example, the federal poverty guidelines for a family of three (parent and two children) show the parent would have to make more than $6.50 an hour in a full-time job for the family to be out of poverty. And many consider federal poverty income guidelines significantly below a "living wage" in a state such as Oregon where housing and other expenses are high.
Also, not everyone with a minimum-wage job is able to work full-time. National labor statistics show that 61 percent of workers with minimum-wage salaries are in part-time jobs, according to Art Ayre, a labor economist with the state employment department. No comparable Oregon statistic was available. The Oregon Department of Human Services says more than 75 percent of the roughly 1,500 persons a month who leave Temporary Assistance to Needy Families leave for a full-time job.
"Our studies of Oregon low-income workers (employed and participating in the Oregon Health Plan in 1994) found a lot of workers with persistently low earnings, and a lot of moving in and out of jobs," says Bruce Weber, a professor of agricultural and resource economics at OSU who is involved in several poverty-related studies for agencies such as the Oregon Progress Board.
"Full-year work appears to be elusive for many low-income working adults," adds Weber. "Less than half reported earnings in all eight quarters after they entered the Health Plan. One third reported earnings in less than six of the eight quarters. The average 1996 income of these workers was less than $9,000."
The economy is a gigantic, unpredictable variable when you try to pinpoint the forces that affect poverty, Weber points out, and he wonders what will happen to low-income Oregonians, including those recently off welfare, when the state runs into its next significant economic downturn.
Another Oregon State University faculty member, family studies professor Clara Pratt, took a stab at summarizing some of the things research is telling us about poverty in Oregon:
"Not surprisingly," she said, "Oregon poverty varies by age, gender, race, region and educational level. Our youngest and oldest residents are poorest. Women and female-headed households have much higher rates of poverty at all ages. Minorities experience much higher levels, and rural Oregonians are more likely to be poor than urban dwellers. Education levels are strongly related to income. The more education the better.
"When the risk factors combine," she continued, "the rates of poverty increase dramatically. For example, being an older minority woman has been called the economic 'triple whammy.'
"Poverty, especially prolonged poverty at an early age, puts children at great risk for poorer health, lower educational success and greater exposure to family and community violence. Despite growth in the economy and the low unemployment rate, the percentage of families with young children who are poor or near poor has increased in the past 20 years. In fact, income inequality has increased dramatically. We have an increasing number of families that are economically vulnerable and a shrinking middle class."
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Article 3 of 7 in Part 2 |
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