[DFLEF] To the Point: Restoring the Vision -- Ending Poverty

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To the Point!	 
Restoring the Vision: Ending Poverty	 
by Senator John Marty
May 27, 2008	 	
Political expectations have slipped in recent decades; people accept
things that were once considered unacceptable. Even after last year's
tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis, there seemed to be only a
temporary burst of public outrage over bridges that are so structurally
deficient that they are too weak to repair -- bridges that could not
withstand the stress of bolting on reinforcement plates.

One important area where our society has lowered expectations relates to
our acceptance of poverty among working families. It was always part of
the American Dream that life would be better for the next generation
than for the previous one. "Better off" might be measured in ways other
than financial, but few parents in the last couple of generations would
have expected that their children would not make enough to pay for food,
housing, medical care and other necessities no matter how hard they
worked. 

Yet today, we have many families with full-time workers who are paid too
little to make ends meet. At the end of 2007, about half of all job
openings in Minnesota were for jobs that paid less than $11 per hour. 

Economic analysis by the Jobs Now Coalition estimates that for the
average family of four, with both parents working, each worker must earn
at least $12.24 per hour in order to meet basic needs, which they define
as "a 'no frills' standard of living: no money for debt payments,
entertainment, restaurant meals, vacation, and nothing is set aside for
emergencies, retirement or children's college education." 

That means more than half of all job openings are for jobs that pay too
little for workers to make ends meet, even if both parents are working
full time! 

Remember when one worker could support an entire family on the wages
earned as a janitor or a retail clerk or a milk truck driver?

The situation is getting worse. According to the state demographer, "The
number of Minnesotans in extreme poverty, below 50% of the poverty line,
grew from about 154,000 in 2000 to about 194,000 in 2005." One in 27
Minnesotans lives in extreme poverty.

Yet despite political promises, some politicians are making the
situation worse. This year's budget made significant cuts in health and
human services that help poor, sick and disabled people. 

It cannot be argued that the state is working to ensure that private
sector employers pay better wages and provide health benefits to make up
for these cuts. If anything, the administration is encouraging the
opposite. Last year, when contracting with a private firm to provide
food service at the state capitol, the Pawlenty administration selected
a company that planned to fire long term employees and replace them with
new employees at lower wages and without benefits. The situation is bad
and getting worse. Many people are working very hard, but they simply
cannot make ends meet for their families. 

Think how low our expectations have slipped in recent years. 

We have working people who, at the end of the work day, spend the night
on cots in church basements because they cannot afford housing. We have
families with two working parents who do not have health insurance
because they cannot afford the premiums and co-pays. 

One mother in northern Minnesota, who has adopted several children with
special needs, told me that as they grow up, she hopes to help them
learn to be content to be poor because, given her experience, she
believes that they will never have the capacity to earn enough to escape
poverty! 

This is not the American Dream. These are not Minnesota values. 

It is not acceptable to deny our neighbors the basic necessities of
life. We must not allow this to be acceptable politics in Minnesota. 

Two years ago, the legislature created a Commission to End Poverty by
2020, in response to actions taken by people in the faith community.
Religious leaders from a wide range of denominations signed a commitment
to end poverty, and pushed for creation of the commission. (more
information at mnwithoutpoverty.org)

It's time to restore a vision of dignity for all. It's time to change
public and private sector policies to bring an end to poverty in
Minnesota.

Senator Marty is co-chair of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty
by 2020. 	
  _____  

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