According To the Census, $11,000 a Year Isn't Poor

The U.S. Census recently released new data about the number of Americans living in poverty. The results, while expected, certainly are frightening. According to the graphic, a little over 14% of our nation's population is living at, or below the poverty line. This is the highest percentage poor in 15 years.

According a New York Times report, one in five children are living in poverty. And while the report provides some interesting details about the impact of unemployment and the recession on our country, it still seems, to me at least, to be incomplete.

The poverty line for a family of four is $22,050. While for a single adult, the poverty line is $10,830, before taxes. And while the 14% of people living below this line is heartbreaking, I think that the line is not accurate. For a single adult, $11,000 is less than $1,000 a month. Although, according to the data, this is above the poverty line, there is no way that someone could actually live on that. The rent on a simple studio apartment in a typical community is at least $500 a month. That is half the before tax income, leaving less than $100 a week to spend on things like food, utilities, transportation, heath insurance and other needs. If you can't support yourself, then how can you be considered to be “not poor”.

I think that if we want to get a more accurate look at the rate of poverty in our country, we are going to have to rethink the poverty line. Even for a family of four making $23,000 a year before taxes, while not technically living in poverty, they are still not able to live on that wage. A two bedroom apartment in a safe area is generally $800-1000 a month. When you are making a little less than $2,000 a month, with two kids to feed, it is practically impossible.

So, I say, lets take a look at the real poverty line, and the numbers might be even more shocking. There are many families out there that are having to live with their families just to be able to make ends meet, and while they are “not poor”, they certainly feel like it. Not to mention the “not poor” people who don't have family to share housing with. For them, not only is it difficult to afford rent, they can't qualify to rent from most apartment complexes if the rent is more than three times their income. So they are forced to pay more for housing in bad areas or from long term hotels, where it becomes even harder to save money because they are spending an even higher percentage of their income just on housing alone.

Maybe if we counted all the poor, the numbers would be shocking enough to do something about.

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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.

Are Summer Jobs a Thing of The Past?

We all know how tough the current job market has been, and looks to continue being for some time, but one of the side effects that doesn't get nearly enough attention is the problems facing teenagers. With another summer over, more and more teens have been unable to find summer jobs. The jobless rate among teenagers is at its highest level since the government began keeping statistics in 1948. According to reports, over 26.1% of teens are officially considered unemployed (which means that they are out there looking for work, but unable to find it). This excludes teens who are not opting for a summer job and instead working on studies or other pastimes.

So what does that mean for the rest of us? Who cares if teens don't have spending money? Sadly, the answer is that it means a lot more than just teenagers without money to buy CDs and clothes.

In fact, according to The Nation-

the job plight of today’s young workers is a broken escalator. Instead of young people getting on at the bottom and smoothly traveling to the top throughout their careers, workers already near the top are losing jobs and going backwards, nudging out young people trying to climb on. Older workers who can’t afford to retire aren’t stepping off the escalator to make room for a new generation. And with jobs still disappearing, the escalator has all but stalled.

That’s what we see in the teen jobless rate. Teenagers are competing with jobless adults for low-end, entry-level positions. This is especially true where state and local budget crises have destroyed summer jobs programs for teens.

The sad thing is that it isn't just spending money that they are losing. Summer jobs are what teenagers do to save money for college tuition. I can remember working fast food for two summers and saving almost all of my money for college. Now, our children are heading off to college with no savings, rising tuition rates, financial aid benefits slashed and textbooks costing more and more knowing that when they get their degree, they still might not be able to find a job.

And what's worse is that this generation of kids are heading into adulthood without having had the chance to find out what it means to be an employee. Starting out in entry level fields as a teen gives you job experience to help you find a better job while you are in college and help prepare you for the career you are studying for.

My fear is that these teens are losing the chance to experience the American Dream, to have goals and think that there is nothing stopping them from being whoever they want. How do we teach them that hard work and determination are all you need to have a successful life? Are our teens growing into adulthood without the skills to compete in the job force?

I don't know the answers, but I think that it is a problem that deserves attention. What do you think? Do you think that summer jobs for teenagers are a crucial step in their journey to adulthood?

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.