Are we looking to defeat poverty or promote economic security?

How do YOU define what YOUR family needs to make ends meet? Do you use your food budget only? Or, do you come up with a real number that addresses your monthly expenses?

Have you ever wondered why many state and federal work support programs use eligibility phrases like 150% of the Federal Poverty Level or 200% of the Federal Poverty Level?

Could it be because practitioners know that the FPL is artificially low? Could it be that they know BOTH parents typically work in low-income households with two adults? Could it be that they know families with young children can spend as much as 1/3 of their monthly income on child care? Could it be that they know what it takes to make ends meet varies from place to place?

For too long our nation has relied on a measure of deprivation to drive our efforts to fight a ‘war on poverty.’ What would happen if the U.S. relied on an index of income adequacy--a measure of what it takes families of different sizes and types to move toward financial well-being in their geographic locations--to drive efforts to lead a ‘movement to economic security’?

Perhaps it is time that we get past the notion that we don’t want to see an increase in the number of people who are determined to be in poverty because (1) the numbers wouldn’t be pretty especially among children and seniors, and (2) because it might require additional funding for safety net programs. Interestingly enough, the Office of Management and Budget could with the stroke of a pen change the methodology for the Federal Poverty Level. And, the OMB answers to the White House which could call on the OMB to do just that.

To his credit, Representative McDermott introduced (and reportedly will re-introduce) legislation calling for the modernization of the federal poverty measure and for the creation of a Decent Living Standard. If you’ve not seen this legislation, take a look. It is certainly a leap in the right direction.

More than a decade ago, Wider Opportunities for Women working with Dr. Diana Pearce to develop a measure of self-sufficiency--a place-based measure that would define what it takes families to make ends meet. Over the years, 35 states and the District of Columbia have developed Self-Sufficiency Standards, and other organizations have developed similar models for their own use and for use in some of the remaining states.

If cities and states recognize the value of using this newer lens to look at family financial health for both policy and program purposes, surely the federal government could do the same.

What does economic security mean?

Often our conversations focus on poverty as moving a person “out of” poverty. Just what exactly does that mean? Are we even focusing on the right topic, that is, should we focus on moving people OUT of poverty or INTO a state of economic security? When thinking this through, I tried an old trick—I looked for definitions of the words—funny how that can help, especially when we think we know what a word means.

Dictionary .com defines poverty as “a state or condition of having little or no money, goods or means of support.” There was no definition of “economic security,” so I have created one based on the definitions of each word independently. Economic is defined as “pertaining to the production, distribution and use of income, wealth and commodities. Security is defined as the “freedom from danger or risk, from care, anxiety or doubt; well-founded confidence.” Putting it all together then, we get “freedom from danger or risk and from care, anxiety or doubt about and a well-founded confidence in the production, distribution and use of income, wealth and commodities.” We could probably finesse that just a bit, but it will do for now.

If we talk only about moving people “out of” poverty, we miss the chance to define and impact where we move them. Let’s focus our conversation on providing all individuals and families this freedom—the freedom from risk, the freedom from anxiety or doubt about the production and distribution of income, wealth and commodities in this country. Let’s talk about how we move families INTO a condition of being economically secure—a condition where the income they earn is not at risk, where the production of that income is open to all who possess the education, training or experience necessary and where the acquisition of that education or training is available and accessible for all—a real condition of opportunity for all.

It is possible.

Watch the freshman congressman from Colorado explain the need for gender equity in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in less than 60 seconds.




We can change the dialogue and lives, if only we will.