Studies show powerful poverty numbers

Two recently published nonprofit studies highlight the extreme poverty experienced by households across Jasper County and the rest of Iowa.

The United Ways of Iowa released its ALICE report on June 28, with Iowa Policy Project’s two-part “The Cost of Living in Iowa — 2016 Edition” going public on July 6. Both reveal the amount of people in poverty whose incomes don’t meet basic living expenses, and both show the discrepancies between one- and multi-income families.

“Businesses, public officials and community members are well aware that people are struggling in our state,” said United Ways of Iowa Executive Director Deann Cook. “However, they often don’t understand the depths of the struggle — the real fears of these families — and the consequences for all of us when we don’t listen to their tale.”

The United Way study uses a threshold called ALICE — an acronym that stands for asset, limited income, constrained and employed — using various costs of living and income and assets to determine how many people are living in poverty. The incomes of these households are technically above the Federal Poverty Level, but don’t add up to affording the basic cost of living.

The income threshold used for Jasper County in the study is $35,000 annual income for heads of household younger than age 65, and $25,000 for heads of household age 65 or older.

The study, which uses 2014 data, shows about 30 percent of Jasper County families live in poverty by the ALICE standard — close to the state average. Dallas County has 21 percent; Decatur County, which straddles Interstate 35 along the Missouri border, is at 46 percent.

Most of the county is within the 25 to 35 percent range of poverty, with Lynnville and Sully averaging slightly more income than any other Jasper communities.

In terms of economic viability, the ALICE report gives each of Iowa’s 99 counties a “poor,” “fair” or “good” rating in three categories. Jasper was rated “poor” for housing affordability and “fair” for both job opportunities and community resources.

Only five counties in the state scored “good” in all three categories.

The United Way report also shows a large discrepancy between Jasper County homeowners and renters in terms of percentage of income spent on housing.

While only 19 percent of homeowners in the county spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, 25 percent of the county’s 10,000 homeowners are living below the poverty line. Conversely, 56 percent of the county’s 4,400 renters live in poverty, and 43 percent of them spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

The 2016 Iowa Policy Project report — which has been updated every two years since 2008 — begins by pointing out that nearly 114,000 Iowa families do not earn enough to provide for a basic standard of living without public supports, despite one or more full-time wage earners in the family.

Overall, nearly 19 percent of Iowa working households meet this description in 2016.

For single parents, the challenge is greater than it is for married couples with children. While the cost of basic expenses for a married, two-income couple with two children went up from about $57,000 to $60,000 between 2014 and 2016, or about 5 percent, and the same costs for a single parent of one child only went up 3.2 percent, Iowa has had its minimum wage at $7.25 per hour since July 2009.

Unemployment is somewhat seasonal and is typically updated monthly. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jasper County’s April 2015-May 2016 average was 3.8 percent unemployment, or slightly below Iowa’s statewide average of 3.9 percent.

Mike Owen executive director of Iowa Policy Project, said federal poverty guidelines, which are used to determine eligibility for public benefits such as SNAP, do not “offer a reasonable picture of poverty.” He said in the Project staff’s view, that picture is better is painted more clearly and vividly using cost-of-living research.

“The federal cutoffs are outdated and do not consider what it takes for a family to get by,” Owen said. “This becomes of particular interest when compared with typically reported poverty rates, which are based on the federal poverty guidelines.”

Owen said his team is hoping to help shape state and federal legislation that helps regulate cost escalations and raises wages in a way that not only helps avert poverty, but also drives a more deliberate prosperity.

“The information that seems to be getting the most attention is the focus of that report,” Owen said. “Nearly one in five families are not able to meet a basic-needs household budget.”

The United Ways of Iowa study can be found here: bit.ly/29GQsET

The Iowa Policy Project study can be found here: bit.ly/29GnrNL

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com