From Poverty to Opportunity:Faces of Poverty

In Cortland County

Lindy GlennonExecutive Director

An unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people.

The quality of being unequal or uneven: • social disparity• disparity of distribution or

opportunity

Inequality – what is it?

The extent to which an individual does without essential resources. These resources include: financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships and role models and coping strategies.

Poverty – what is it?

Poverty means living in the tyranny of the moment. Immediate needs and inability or overwhelming challenge of meeting them is all you can respond to and deal with. Concrete thoughts and actions, not abstract.

What would you do?

Let’s put things in perspective…

The NYS minimum wage is $8.75 an hour. Assuming full-time, year-round employment, how much would a parent have to earn to rent a modest, two-bedroom apartment in Cortland at fair market rent without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing (the conventional standard for affordable housing)?

a. $8.75 per hour, $18,240 per yearb. $10.78 per hour, $22,422 per yearc. $13.35 per hour, $27,756 per yeard. $14.87 per hour, $30,840 per year

d. $14.87 per hour, $30,840 per year

A parent would need to earn $14.87 per hour, more than double the federal minimum wage, to afford to rent a modest two-bedroom apartment at a fair market rent without exceeding their housing budget.

* According to the Living Wage Calculator developed by MIT, Cortland County at $771 per month. http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36023

In Cortland County, a single parent with two children would need $49,188 (after taxes) annually ($27.90 per hour) to pay for necessities like rent, food, transportation and child care. (Living Wage Calculator MIT)

What is the federal poverty line for a family of three?a. $20,090b. $22,350c. $40,050d. $60,050

Millions of families across the country struggle to pay for high-cost necessities like food, rent, and child care, but the poverty line is only $20,090 for a family of three. The official statistics showing more than 45 million Americans living in poverty severely underestimate the number of Americans struggling to make ends meet.

What is the NYS average daily SNAP benefit per person per day?

a. $7.23b. $5.95c. $4.89d. $8.01

That is $1.63 per person per meal.

How many children live in households struggling with hunger?a. One in sixb. One in fivec. One in fourd. One in three

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly one in four children, or 23.3 percent, live in households struggling with hunger. Hunger and food insecurity affect educational performance and health outcomes. Undernutrition affects children's ability to learn. Chronic hunger therefore results in persistent learning difficulties, which has long-term impacts on children. Hunger also contributes to many health problems, including obesity. It cost more to eat healthy.

More than one out of every five children is living in poverty in the US.

23% of all childrenunder 18 years old. (US Census Bureau)

Let’s talk about the numbers…

How much does child poverty cost our economy every year?a. $400 millionb. $500 billionc. $600 milliond. $700 billion

A recent Half in Ten-commissioned report by Dr. Harry Holzer found that child poverty costs the economy more than $500 billion a year in lost productivity and increased health care and criminal justice expenditures. Conversely, implementing the principle recommendations from a 2007 CAP report to cut poverty in half in ten years would cost $90 billion a year.

Poverty affects everyone:

The poor are not a static group and widespread economic insecurity can push families into poverty for short spells. What’s more, these trends affect all of us. More people in poverty means fewer consumers for American goods and services, which slows our economic growth and costs us jobs. More people in poverty means less worker productivity, higher health costs, and a less-educated workforce to build the jobs and industries of the future.

Let’s talk about the numbers…

A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.

Wealth Inequality In America

Safety net programs give low income families a leg up when they fall on hard times. A total of 40 million individuals were lifted out of poverty by federal benefits programs in 2011. The Census Bureau reports  • social security kept 15.3 million people

out of poverty• unemployment insurance kept 1.7

million people out of poverty• SNAP kept 4 million people out of

poverty in 2012. • EITC kept 3.1 million children out of

poverty in 2011.

Let’s talk about the numbers…

What Does Inequality and Poverty in Cortland Actually Look Like?

Transportation:• No car or only one car

• Public Transportation• Cost of gas for rural areas

• Resources located in City of Cortland

• Access to summer lunch

Food

• Groceries in Marathon, Cincinnatus

Prices are higher – limited if any fresh foods/produce• SNAP – Average $1.63

pp/pd• Free/Reduced Price

Lunches

Cortland County Federal Free / Reduced Lunch (January 14, 2015)

Percentages

District Enrollment Free Reduced Paid Free Reduced Paid Total F/RPL

Cortland 2989 1169 197 1623 39.1% 6.6% 54.3% 45.7%

Cincinnatus 601 286 40 275 47.6% 6.7% 45.8% 54.2%

DeRuyter 427 187 27 213 43.8% 6.3% 49.9% 50.1%

Homer 2116 697 154 1265 32.9% 7.3% 59.8% 40.2%

Marathon 731 274 83 374 37.5% 11.4% 51.2% 48.8%

McGraw 583 256 37 290 43.9% 6.3% 49.7% 50.3%

County Total 7447 2869 538 4040 38.5% 7.2% 54.3% 45.7%

2014-15 School Year more than 45% of all studentswere eligible for free/reduced price lunches in Cortland

County

Free Lunch- up to 130% of FPLReduced Price Lunch – 130% to 185% of FPL

Phone/internet• Limited Providers • Safelink is option for low-

income families • Go phone/trac phones • Not having a consistent

phone is an issue when looking for work, contact with/from schools, calling doctors or getting calls from doctor.

Employment • Lost many major/big

employers (Rubbermaid, Smith Corona)

• Some employers have entry level jobs, but tend to be shift work and with no transportation, child care can’t take the jobs.

• Many entry level jobs do not provide benefits.

Health Care

• Medical care that takes Medicaid can be challenge to find

• Limited options for specialist

• Medicaid transportation is available but not easy

• No pharmacies in rural areas.

School

• Participation in after school activities

• Cost of extra-curricular activities Special trips

• Senior portraits• Parent/teacher conferences • Many children in rural areas

expected to work on farms before/after school.

• Cost of school supplies • If you owe money (lost book,

library, lunch) can’t get your report card or schedules for next year until paid – lost textbook can be $60-$80.

• Attendance – children out sick

Utilities Rural costs are often higherGarbage pick up laundry Housing Limited access to affordable housing in Cortland

What does this mean?

What do we do now?

For more information:

• Coalition on Human Needs - www.chn.org

• Spotlight on Poverty - www.spotlightonpoverty.org

• Half In Ten – www.halfinten.org

• US Census Bureau - www.census.gov

• Community Action Partnership – www.communityactionpartnership.com

• NYS Community Action Association - www.nyscommunityaction.org

• Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) – www.capco.org