By Dr. Jessica Johnson
Guest Column
Census Bureau data released earlier this month showed an increase in the number of Americans who are living in poverty, and one of the most disturbing findings is that the percentage of children living in households that struggle to provide their essential needs doubled.
Using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which calculates the economic hardship of families not able to sustain a basic standard of living, the Bureau report revealed that 5.2% of children under 18 were poverty stricken in 2021 compared to 12.4% in 2022. The SPM poverty rate for adults ages 18 to 64 was 7.9% in 2021 and rose to 11.9% last year. The SPM, like the official poverty measure, determines the poverty status “of people and families by comparing their financial resources against poverty thresholds that are valued in dollars,” according to the Congressional Research Service. Families whose means fall below the thresholds are categorized as poor, and the primary difference in using SPM calculations is how it defines resources. For example, the Congressional Research Service explains that for 2020 the SPM counted the stimulus payments that were sent to families during the COVID-19 pandemic while including its standard computation of tax credits and other federal benefits those with children receive.
As parents got significant financial assistance from the expanded child tax credits during COVID, child poverty rates declined by SPM assessments. SPM poverty rates were also lower for working adults who received stimulus payments during the pandemic compared to the official measure, which only uses pretax cash income as a resource. The stimulus help provided for adults resulted in more income to be factored after the SPM deducted “work-related expenses.” The failure of Congress to extend the enhanced child tax credit last December is being considered as one of the main reasons for more children falling back into poverty.
As I have read reports on poverty increasing in America, I am weighing all of this quantitative data with what I am seeing daily on the streets of Columbus. In Columbus, there is an affordable housing crisis, and the increase in homelessness in the state, which is up 20% from last year according to the city’s Community Shelter Board, has resulted in more people living in shelters and dangerous areas outside. Nineteen percent of Columbus residents are currently living below the federal poverty level. I have noticed from simple observations of commuting to work, driving to church, and going to grocery stores that there are more displaced people in parking lots and more people on street corners holding signs begging for money or food. In some Walmart parking lots, one trend I have seen is that people living out of their cars park far away from store entrances. Their vehicles often appear to be broken down and are stuffed with boxes of their belongings, mainly clothes. I have also seen children with adults who are asking for help, and I’m sure their parents are hoping and praying that people will have more compassion looking upon their kids in need. Others have been very creative in the way they ask for money. One young man who particularly stood out to me during the summer is a talented musician, and he was playing the violin in the parking lot of Giant Eagle grocery stores with a huge sign stating that he needed funds to pay his rent.
City leaders in Columbus are optimistic that the money provided from local and federal agencies to tackle poverty will assist more residents in getting back on their feet. On a national level, much of the discussion has been on the need for wages to increase to meet rising housing, food, and medical costs. While policy wonks will continue to examine the best approaches to alleviate poverty, I am a firm believer that we must also take time to minister to the emotional needs of people struggling to survive, something that my pastor heavily emphasizes in our church’s community work. Proverbs 14:21 tells us that those who have mercy on the poor are happy and blessed. Every time I see a person on the street, I know that they are much more than a statistic in studies and reports. Being destitute has crushed their spirit, so their dignity needs to be restored as we provide a pathway for them to acquire the resources to become self-sufficient.
Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at The Ohio State University-Lima. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @JjSmojc. Her opinion does not necessarily represent the views of The Lima News or its owner, AIM Media.
