• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Human Interest / Iowa Policy Project report says minimum wage not enough for some families

Iowa Policy Project report says minimum wage not enough for some families

September 25, 2019 By Radio Iowa Contributor

A report on the state’s cost of living by the Iowa Policy Project says a single parent of two children would need to earn $46,000 annually to meet expenses.

Researcher Peter Fisher says the cost of a family budget is far outpacing the minimum wage thanks in part to rising costs for things like housing and health care.  “Even a single person. Even for a young couple working full time, 40 hours a week, need more than – way more than the minimum wage of seven-twenty-five,” Fisher says.

Fisher says 1 in 5 Iowa families falls short of a livable income. And there’s a racial disparity within that number. Black and Hispanic families are more than twice as likely as white families to earn less than they need to get by. The $46,000 is more than double federal poverty guideline and researcher Natalie Veldhouse says that means federal support often ends for families long before they are self-sufficient.

“Because the federal poverty level is so outdated and the way it’s calculated isn’t really taking into account the rising cost of things like child care and transportation and housing,” according to Veldhouse. She says 63% of single parent households in Iowa fall short of a livable income compared to about 14% of couples with children.

(Thanks to Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Human Interest, News

Featured Stories

Governor signs child care expansion into law

Iowa seniors have until July 1 to apply for new property tax break

Smoke from distant fires creates colorful sunrise in Iowa

DOT’s Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division to merge into State Patrol

Iowa’s governor approves liability limits for trucking industry

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Cyclone Trio Invited to USA Basketball U19 Training Camp

Cameron Young to compete at the John Deere Classic

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 5/29/23

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement

Iowa to visit Creighton in Gavitt Tipoff Games

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC