Op-Ed for Poverty Day

Create an Economic Recovery That Helps All Americans

By Diane John-Smith

By official reckonings America was in a period of economic recovery from 2001 to 2007. As I know too well, many of us did not share in the good times. For the last three years, since I became disabled, I’ve lived in poverty. Now my grandnieces and grandnephew, ages five, five and six, live in poverty as well, even though they live with both parents and their father works fulltime. New data shows that we are not alone.

New data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau show that 317,000 Iowans lived in poverty in 2007—over 90,000 of them children.

As troubling as the 2007 numbers are, things are even worse today.

In Iowa unemployment rose from 3.8 percent in July 2007 to 4.3 percent this July. According to the Food Research Action Council, over 256,000 Iowans participated in the Food Stamp program this past May, nearly a 7% increase over the same month in 2007. Rising food and gas costs are hitting my family and others hard.

But there is plenty that can be done to both help people who are suffering and spur economic growth. In fact, economists say that the surest way to boost the economy is to help those most in need. “If you’re somebody who lives paycheck to paycheck, you’re more likely to spend that extra dollar,” said Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke.

When Congress returns in September, it should heed Bernanke’s words and quickly pass an economic stimulus bill including extra weeks of jobless benefits for workers in high-unemployment states, a temporary increase in food stamps for low-income families, and more help for poor families facing skyrocketing heating bills this winter.

These measures are effective ways to jump start the economy. They’re also critically important to needy families. The average food stamp benefit is still only about $1 per person per meal. And poor families are facing a roughly 40 percent increase in home heating costs this winter. There is no reason why vulnerable Americans like my nieces and nephew should face health-threatening hardships.

Congress also has the opportunity to reduce poverty by passing legislation to expand the Child Tax Credit. In Iowa, 22,000 children would get a new credit and 77,000 would get a larger credit, providing some relief to working poor families as they struggle to lift their children out of poverty.

All of us should hold our leaders accountable to do something about poverty. Actions Congress takes in the next few weeks could be a lifeline to millions of low-income families throughout the country – including many like mine, right here in Iowa.

Diane John-Smith of Marion is group leader of the Cedar Rapids Area RESULTS group. RESULTS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizens grassroots organization which creates the public and political will to end poverty and hunger.