Did You Know?
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Many U.S. families hold jobs that do not provide adequate wages to support a family. In 2008, 14.9 million families with at least one worker earned less that 200 percent of the official poverty line. In 2008, 21 million children lived in low-income working.
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Many families face barriers to saving for emergencies, education, training, retirement, or home ownership. In 2007, for example, the median net worth of those in the lowest income quartile was negative $2,300. Of the assets held by low-income families, the vast majority were held in transaction—checking—accounts and intended for basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
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1-in-5 low-income families has zero or negative net worth--excluding home equity--and median net worth is $7,200.
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83 percent of low income families have a bank account but the amount in the account is too small to see through even a short employment gap or other financial emergency.
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Only 23 percent of low-income families have any retirement savings
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Many people have jobs that do not provide benefits. In 2008, about 41 percent of “poor” families who were of working age and worked in the past year lacked health insurance.
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Low-income families pay between 29 percent and 55 percent of their family income to send their children to 2-and 4-year colleges
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Many families lack access to high quality, dependable child care and other supports necessary to maintain employment. In 2007 there was an estimated 14.5 million children under age 6 who had parents that worked and needed child care. However, at that time there were only 10.9 million legally-operating child care spaces available. In 2009, for example, 19 states had significant waiting lists for child care subsidies. Also, the number of children on waiting lists increased between 2008 and 2009.
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Overview: Opportunities for Working Families
Supporting Working Families: The Legislative Role
In the United States today, the vast majority of families—82.2 percent in 2008—have at least one member who works. Yet, despite their efforts, many of these families face significant challenges to achieving their goal of economic security. This has consequences not only for the family, but also for society as whole.
“When families cannot afford the basic necessities like health care, decent housing and reliable transportation, they often find themselves getting farther and farther behind," says Senator Jim Seymour of Iowa. "Billions of dollars are spent each year… on education and human services. If we can lift our working families out of poverty, we can reduce the cost of government programs.”
As a legislator, you are in a unique position to help support the efforts of working families to achieve economic security in your district and throughout your state. You are, first and foremost, a policymaker. In this role, you can strive to put into place policies that support working families. You are also a community leader. As such, you are uniquely placed to understand and act upon issues at a local level, including forging partnerships with others as they strive to improve the prospects of working families. Your efforts will not only benefit working families, but also will be of consequence for your entire state.
Legislators across the country have teamed up their colleagues, members of the faith community, the private sector and other community groups to create opportunities for working families in their states and districts.
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Click here for more information about how state legislators
are putting ideas into action.
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References
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