For Starters:
Precarious:
adjective http://www.dictionary.com
1. dependent on
circumstances beyond one's...uncertain; unstable; insecure
2. dependent on the
will or pleasure of another; liable to be withdrawn or lost...
3. exposed to or
involving danger; dangerous; perilous; risky
4. having
insufficient, little, or no foundation
Read on friends,
------------------------------------------------------------------
20 June 2018 | United Way
The ALICE Project
https://www.unitedwayalice.org/home
ALICE
stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained,
Employed.
ALICE is your child care worker, your parent on Social Security, the cashier at your supermarket, the gas attendant, the salesperson at your big box store, your waitress, a home health aide, an office clerk.
ALICE cannot always pay the bills, has little or nothing in savings, and is forced to make tough choices such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent. One unexpected car repair or medical bill can push these financially strapped families over the edge.
ALICE
earns above the federal poverty level, but does not earn enough to
afford a bare-bones household budget of housing, child care, food,
transportation, and health care.
The
United Way ALICE Reports use new measures to provide a more accurate
picture of financial insecurity at the state, county, and municipal
level.
From 2016 Executive Report:
The
basic cost of living out
paces wages: The
cost of basic household expenses in New York is more than most of the
state’s jobs can support. The average annual Household Survival
Budget for a New York family of four (two adults with one infant and
one preschooler) is $62,472 – more than double the U.S. family
poverty level of $23,850...
While
short-term strategies can make conditions less severe, only
structural economic changes will significantly improve the prospects
for ALICE and enable hardworking households to support themselves.
Strengthening the New York economy and meeting ALICE’s challenges
are linked: Improvement for one would directly benefit the other. The
ALICE tools can help policymakers, community leaders, and business
leaders to better understand the number and variety of households
facing financial hardship and to create more effective and lasting
change.
Household Survival Budget: Single adult, $22,092, Family of four (two young children) $61,356.
This
bare-minimum budget does not allow for any savings, leaving a
household vulnerable to unexpected expenses. Affording only a very
modest living in each community, this budget is still significantly
more than the U.S. poverty level of $11,670 for a single adult and
$23,850 for a family of four.
40%
of Schoharie County households are in poverty or within ALICE range.
Some towns exceed this by as much as 15 percentage points. (based
on 2014 statistics – 2018 report not yet issued.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Living Wage Calculation for Schoharie County, New York
The living wage shown is the hourly rate that an individual must earn to support their family, if they are the sole provider and are working full-time (2080 hours per year). All values are per adult in a family unless otherwise noted.The state minimum wage is the same for all individuals, regardless of how many dependents they may have. The poverty rate is typically quoted as gross annual income. We have converted it to an hourly wage for the sake of comparison.
| Hourly Wages | 1 Adult | 1 Adult 1 Child | 1 Adult 2 Children | 1 Adult 3 Children | 2 Adults (1 Working) | 2 Adults (1 Working) 1 Child | 2 Adults (1 Working) 2 Children | 2 Adults (1 Working) 3 Children | 2 Adults (1 Working Part Time) 1 Child* | 2 Adults | 2 Adults 1 Child | 2 Adults 2 Children | 2 Adults 3 Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living Wage | $11.51 | $25.89 | $33.77 | $43.08 | $18.58 | $23.23 | $25.77 | $28.42 | $14.50 | $9.29 | $14.50 | $18.22 | $22.01 |
| Poverty Wage | $5.00 | $7.00 | $9.00 | $11.00 | $7.00 | $9.00 | $11.00 | $13.00 | $3.00 | $4.00 | $5.00 | $6.00 | |
| Minimum Wage | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 | $9.00 |
*Documentation for families with an adult working part-time is available separately, here.
Source: http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36095
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Budget Calculator
"...there is nowhere...a minimum-wage worker...earns enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget."
The Economic Policy Institute released an update to its signature Family Budget Calculator, which shows what’s required for families to attain an adequate—but modest—standard of living in communities throughout the country. The updated calculator contains data on the cost of living for 10 family types in all 3,142 counties (and county equivalents) and in all 611 metro areas.
The Family Budget Calculator is a stark reminder that many workers in low-wage jobs do not earn enough to meet their family’s basic needs. Even after adjusting for higher state and city minimum wages, there is nowhere in the country where a minimum-wage worker—even a single adult without children—earns enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 years into this depression and
Nowhere
to go [= nothing to lose]
A
Precariat
Anthem performed by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Sittin'
alone in the dark
Wastin'
my time in a park
'Cause
I've got - Nowhere to go
Had
me a job 'til the market fell out
Tried
hard to borrow but there was no help
Now
I've got - Nowhere to go
I
need a job for these two hands
I'm
a workin' man -With nowhere to go
One
last look at my land
Auctioneer
with his gavel in hand
And
he says, "It's got to go"
Worked
this piece all my life
It
broke my heart and it took my wife
Now
I've got nothing to show
I
need a job for these two hands
I'm
a workin' man - With nowhere to go
Wandered
aimless in the city
With
my dirt workin' boots
And
my old straw hat in hand
Singing
a song by Woody Guthrie
This
land is your land - It ain't my land
I'm
a workin' man - With nowhere to go
I
was born to the sunrise
Breaking
back all day
Now
I've got - Something to say
I
am broke but not broken
And
I am not alone
'Cause
there's a lot of folks
-
With nowhere to go
Are
they ever gonna understand
You
can't leave a workin' man
-
Nowhere to go
Are
they ever gonna understand
You
can't leave a workin' man
-
Nowhere to go
Nowhere
to go
Nowhere
to go
Nowhere
to go
Nowhere
to go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kCUAQG_r3k
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Reasons Economic Insecurity Isn’t Your Fault
Popular Resistance,
January 2018
“...Economic
insecurity doesn’t just affect those below the poverty level:
over 215
million Americans–which I count as 66 percent of the
population–couldn’t cover a $1000 emergency with the money in
their savings account. That’s over five times as many of
us who technically live in poverty...”
“...the cultural
and rhetorical forces of capitalism are strong. The billionaire class
invests a lot in teaching us that our material insecurity is our
fault...Such shaming, along with the condition of economic insecurity
itself, extracts terrible
tolls on our health, and makes us less effective in fighting the
underlying socioeconomic and political conditions responsible for the
difficult conditions so many of us are in.”
“...If you are
economically insecure–whether in poverty or swimming a few days
above it, as you read this short article, your shoulders will feel
less tense, you’ll breathe more deeply, and let go of the guilt
that the oligarchs and moralists want you to carry. Then, I hope
you’ll find the strength and love to become more resolute in your
determination to help create a world without this kind of abuse, and
with the opportunities that come from egalitarian, cooperative
security–the kind of world that, frankly, the majority of the world
wants and has always wanted.”
Here goes: This is a
meditation. Your economic insecurity is not your fault because:
1. . . . wages
aren’t under your control
2. . . .
capitalism is like a roller coaster
3. . . .
capitalism reproduces itself in social relations
4. . . . a
few powerful entities could make the system work for us all but won’t
5. . . .
“money” is a construct
6. . . .
“work” is a construct
7. . . .
“personal responsibility” is a construct
Read
the details here: Popular
Resistance
No comments:
Post a Comment