Fred Allebach
12/30/23
Columbia School of Social Work
Fred’s notes on free audit of Coursera course
Poverty and population: How demographics shape policy
Assumptions about poverty’s causes are critical
depends on how and on what you measure
Defining poverty
relative or absolute poverty?
absolute = # of calories and shelter needed to survive
in a wealthy area like North Bay, many are relatively poor
People who have 50, 60, 80% of MHI are poor, a relative measure
In CA, <80% MHI is disadvantaged
Disadvantaged is on a spectrum from cost-burdened to poverty
In US, poverty based on idea of value of a “food basket” and how much needed to spend on it
However, US poverty does not adjust for regional diffs, housing costs., healthcare, childcare, no COLA
Inflation erodes whatever buying power people have
In SV, food is wicked expensive, a food basket COLA is called for here
Official measure underestimates poverty by a lot
US poverty now for family of 4 is $25,000 based on 1960s presumption that 1/3 ($8000) is for food, 3 x 8000= 25,000
Current research, families actually spend @ one seventh or 14% of income in food
It’s reasonable to multiply poverty by 7 rather than 3; 7 = $58,500 for family of four
$58,500 is current poverty level for family of four
This is close to the <80% state MHI level
US Census ACS data for Sonoma Valley Block Groups plus Covered California’s CA poverty chart plus DUC/ DAC definition of disadvantaged measures show that <80% state MHI in Sonoma Valley is equivalent to between 200% and 400% times the federal poverty rate, depending on family size. https://www.coveredca.com/pdfs/FPL-chart.pdf
If you are at 150x the federal poverty rate, chances are you are homeless bc no one can afford a home at that level of income, you are in the gutter.
Thus, the level of cost burdening and measure of disadvantaged needs better calibration with what people actually experience, especially in wealthy coastal California
Articles
“The methods for calculating the current poverty measure, largely unchanged
since the 1960s, have been criticized by many researchers. In response, the Census
Bureau has led a two-decade process of research and discussion of poverty measurement with an eye to revising the official measure.” https://harris.uchicago.edu/files/identifythedisadvantaged.pdf
“Poverty is typically defined in terms of a lack of adequate income, especially in U.S. policy debates. But the experience of poverty goes well beyond household finances, and can include a lack of education, work, access to healthcare, or distressed neighborhood conditions. These additional dimensions of poverty can be layered on top of income poverty; they can also put those who are not income-poor at a disadvantage.”
Robert Sapolsky: stress of poverty takes a lifelong toll on health and well-being, can’t be undone with later interventions. Upstream investment needs to start with a household not in poverty and above 300% – 400% of the federal poverty level
Defining and debating causes of poverty
-how you view causes very much effects how you think poverty should be addressed
-tensions between views, within and between camps, people get wound up in disputing the truth
-econ and social elements, material elements, ideology, morality, religion
-issue of how to name the buckets of how we define poverty: academics is a wide but fragmented slice with multi-disciplinary view always eroded by extreme one-bucket partisanship
-both liberal and conservative views are on a spectrum with more extreme elements as outliers
-liberal: wealth is created by all, need a collective distribution, social liberals/ morality
-conservative: individually centered, business is top, free enterprise are priorities, less regulation, social conservatives/ morality
-Fred’s take: society is obviously made up of individuals and they form communities, it is stupid to frame this is one or the other, see Frank Zappa song Dumb All Over
4 views of poverty
-flawed character model: poor are not working hard enough, not getting up early enough in the morning
-restricted opportunity view: war on poverty, level the opportunity playing field, people need a chance, a hand up: La Luz, Los Cien
-Big Brother view: gov‘t is the cause of poverty, handouts make welfare queens, dependence, too many regulations
-systemic exclusion view: poverty is a matter of power and class oppression, liberation from shackles of hierarchical society: socialism is the cure
An imperfect measure is better than no measure
-SV Latinos are in many cases outside scope of local government/ County poverty measurement and positive effects of gov’t. poverty subsidies bc of undocumented immigration status
-other measures of disadvantage, material hardships, measures of econ insecurity
-that SV economy depends on such disadvantaged immigrant labor which is then supported by philanthropy, shows that the local philanthropic model is an adaptation to serve people but not to challenge causes that create the need for such services, it’s Band Aids
-know your regional poverty rate and compare to others, depends on how and on what you measure
-global poverty and immigration: share the wealth or build a wall?,
-closed borders: SV Greens and property owners in many cases want to build a wall,
-open borders: social/ econ liberals want US to take responsibility for global disparities and history of US imperialism
-tensions between impulses to inclusion or exclusion
-Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath, don’t run people down on their luck out of town as vagrants
Policy
What leeway does SoCo have to make policy?
State laws? Fed? (AFFH is a state law example)
Knowing regulations means knowing how to help and what is required (LAFCO DUCs)
We (the concerned) play the hands we are dealt policy-wise but also question ways in which the deck is stacked and under what assumptions, and demand more fairness and that views/ policies that go beyond maintaining the status quo get implemented
Acronyms
ACS US Census American Community Survey
ADU accessory dwelling unit
SVUSD Sonoma Valley Unified School District
COI community of interest
CDC Sonoma County Community Development Commission
HCD CA Department of Housing and Community Development
HE Housing Element
GP General Plan
BOS Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
LAFCO Sonoma County Local Agency Formation Commission
AFFH Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
SV Sonoma Valley
USA urban service area
BG US Census block group
MFH multifamily home
SFH single family home
TCAC CA state Tax Credit Allocation Committee
DWR CA Dept of Water Resources
SDAC severely disadvantaged community
DAC disadvantaged community
DUC disadvantaged unincorporated community
MHI median household income
COLA cost of living adjustment
COL cost of living
MHV median home value
SoCo Sonoma County
MA median age
MHP mobile home park
MH mobile home
BA Bachelor of Arts degree
EJ environmental justice
CEQA CA Environmental Quality Act
RHNA Regional Housing Needs Assessment
VMT vehicle miles traveled
MSR LAFCO Municipal Services Review
SSP SoCo Springs Specific Plan
CDC SoCo Community Development Commissions
COC SoCo Continuum of Care
CVRA CA Voting Rights Act
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