When I was growing up, it seemed a little easier to get on with nothing.
People can afford food and shelter on working-class wages and receive little help from safety net programs when needed. But since the 1990s, the cost Housing And Healthcare Rising wages have outpaced growth. We are also paying a large portion of our income food now
Even as recently as 2021, an expanded child tax credit, stronger unemployment insurance and health care programs were keeping people out of poverty — and even cutting child poverty in half. But spending hawks in Congress refuse to renew these pandemic-era social programs, and poverty just soars.
The situation is worse under this administration and Congress. Tax cuts for billionaires and already thin aid programs have been slashed in favor of more endless wars.
Even before these recent cuts, it was clear that we needed a stronger safety net with less red tape.
A few years ago, when I was out on my own as a mom, I had to apply for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Food Stamps). It helped my children get the best start in life with good, adequate nutrition, even living in an area where good paying jobs were scarce and childcare was expensive.
In search of better paying work, I moved to St. Louis. I got paid well, but the rent was at least double. Even with a big paycheck, I had to live in my car and apply for Section 8 housing assistance. My son had to go live with his father. I was devastated.
Three years stuck in the 2,000 number on the waiting list I found some subpar housing. But eventually I fell completely off the list. Turns out the form they sent me to waitlist was returned as “undeliverable”. They wrote my address wrong. It was their fault, not mine.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development does not track how many people lose their place in line for housing assistance. Still, the estimated number of losses due to administrative errors is in the tens of thousands per year.
And this is above 7.2 million Affordable housing stock units are in short supply, so are those millions qualified It may not receive housing assistance at all. According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, over 50 percent Public housing agencies keep their voucher waiting lists closed to new applicants at any time. This number can be higher in urban areas.
The system harms the very people it is designed to help.
According to According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, no state in the country has enough affordable rental housing available to meet demand and eligibility criteria. nationally, Only 35 affordable units available for every 100 high-need, low-income applicants.
In short, we need more affordable housing units, better staffing to reduce administrative errors, and less red tape for applicants.
Meanwhile, the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” over the next decade took more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP. Not only does this reduce benefits, it adds red tape and “work requirements”. Most qualified recipients already work, but even if you’re eligible, failure to file the proper paperwork to prove it could cost you your benefits. And of course, without housing, how are we going to get good jobs?
Meanwhile, millions have lost health coverage, and millions more have had their SNAP benefits cut. But with steep cuts to Medicaid slated for after this year’s midterms, the worst may yet come.
Our national priorities are reversed. Instead of cutting taxes for billionaires, we need to tell our lawmakers that our tax dollars go where they’re really needed: affordable, accessible basic human needs. Not for more wars or tax cuts for billionaires.
Raise your voice.
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Previously published with otherwords.org Creative Commons License
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