As if it were necessary, California Tuesday put millions of families struggling every day to put a roof over their heads and put food in their bellies, despite a monopoly wealth trap. received new memories of being home to the

Published by United Ways of California State-of-the-art calculations of real-world poverty, revealed that 34% of families in the state lack sufficient income to meet basic living expenses. The main reason is that these costs, especially housing, are unusually high.

Although this estimate is based on 2021 data, there is no reason to believe that the situation has improved significantly since then.

The federal government’s official poverty headcount is strictly income-based, and according to that methodology, California’s poverty rate is not particularly high.However, the U.S. Census Bureau also Alternative measures This includes the cost of living, and California’s poverty is generally at or near the top of the state.

United Way’s methodology is similar to the Census Bureau’s Alternative Poverty Cal Public Policy Institute calculations Poverty and near-poverty conditions. A poverty level of 34% is comparable to the 15 million Californians who receive health care through the state’s Medi-Cal program.

So in a way, the United Ways report just tells us what we already know. But its interactive features provide important details about which communities and which demographic subgroups are most likely to experience her fifth greatest economic stress in the world. probably the fourth – Largest economic zone.

For example, rural counties and urban cores are most likely to suffer from poverty, with 51% of Latino families earning below the “real cost threshold” needed to meet basic living expenses. became clear. highest of all races.

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

High housing costs are the main factor

The United Ways report implicitly asks what California’s political fabric can do to combat its extreme poverty, especially since the high cost of living (mainly housing) rather than low income is a major factor. ing.

Rising housing costs stem from the state’s chronic housing shortage, While housing construction is on the rise,It still falls short of the 180,000 a year the state needs to close the gap.

While the state has made some notable efforts to revitalize housing construction, primarily by removing local barriers to development, the state’s main anti-poverty approach is to promote housing construction. to increase household income through intermittent programs such as Welfare subsidyraising the minimum wage, Expansion of healthcare Providing Childcare Services and Earned Income Tax Credits direct cash payment.

But they are generally short-term, marginal benefits that rely on volatile state revenue streams rather than permanent income support. There are several state-level initiatives to create Basic Income Guarantee Program Efforts to lift low-income families out of poverty have enormous potential costs.

A United Ways study found that 3.8 million households live below the “real cost threshold” of a decent life, which would typically require about $40,000 more annual income to meet. It says. So it would cost her about $150 billion to provide that extra income, which is roughly a 50% increase in her $300 billion state budget.

It won’t happen.

If California politicians want to get serious about poverty, they need to remove barriers to housing construction, improve educational deficiencies, and make the state more open to job-creating investment, rather than promoting superficial virtues. You’ll be more energetic, even ruthless, about what makes you attractive. Rather than kicking out employers.

About the author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, all but a few of them in California newspapers. He started his professional career in 1960, when Humboldt was 16 years old with his Times newspaper. See Walters’ other columns here. Calmatters.org/commentary.

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