Poverty skyrockets while more cuts loom

Official poverty estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau show catastrophic growth in poverty in Washington state. The worsening poverty statistics were released just as Governor Gregoire called upon the legislature to slash $2 billion in funding for health care, child care, and education investments during a 30-day special session to begin on November 28th.

Some key numbers for Washington state

• Nearly 890,000 people in our state now live below the federal poverty line.  For a family of four, that means surviving on less than $23,000 a year.
• Between 2009 and 2010, 84,000 more Washingtonians slipped into poverty.
• Over 33,000 more children are living in poverty, a jump from 16 percent to 18 percent between 2009 and 2010.
• During the same period, median household income in Washington state declined by nearly $2,000 to $55,631 from $57,416 (after adjusting for inflation).
  

Poverty hurts our whole state

While every corner of our state is impacted, counties with large rural populations and children are among the most vulnerable: Yakima, Grant, Cowlitz, and Franklin counties have the highest rates in the state, with at least one in five residents living in poverty;

Deep Poverty on the Rise

While thousands of new Washingtonians fell into poverty last year, the situation also become much worse for those already struggling to make ends meet. The number of people living in deep poverty – with incomes below $12,000 a year (for a family of four) – now account for 45 percent of all people living in poverty.  This rise in deep poverty will have significant, long-term negative consequences on Washington’s children, families, and communities, as well as our labor market and future economic potential. 

Public economic structures more important than ever

Washington can, and should, invest in struggling families to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn and ensure our future prosperity.  This means we must adopt sensible revenue increases in order to maintain the public health, safety, child care, education, and other systems that form the foundation of our state economy. Yet, policymakers continue to move our state in the opposite direction making unprecedented cuts to these and other public structures that would ignite the economy and promote job creation.

We need a new strategy for developing a state budget that will protect Washington from the economy and make the necessary investments to promote jobs.  When the legislature convenes  in November , it is essential that they consider new revenue to make the vital investments needed to put Washington on a stronger path to prosperity.