Lindy Glennon
Executive Director
An unfair situation in which some
people have more rights or
better opportunities than other
people.
The quality of being unequal or
uneven:
• social disparity
• disparity of distribution or
opportunity
The extent to which an individual
does without essential resources.
These resources include:
financial, emotional, mental,
spiritual, physical, support
systems, relationships and role
models and coping strategies.
Poverty means living in the
tyranny of the moment.
Immediate needs and inability
or overwhelming challenge of
meeting them is all you can
respond to and deal with.
Concrete thoughts and
actions, not abstract.
What would you do?
The NYS minimum wage is $8.75 an hour. Assuming
full-time, year-round employment, how much would a
parent have to earn to rent a modest, two-bedroom
apartment in Cortland at fair market rent without
spending more than 30 percent of their income on
housing (the conventional standard for affordable
housing)?
a. $8.75 per hour, $18,240 per year
b. $10.78 per hour, $22,422 per year
c. $13.35 per hour, $27,756 per year
d. $14.87 per hour, $30,840 per year
d. $14.87 per hour, $30,840 per
year
A parent would need to earn
$14.87 per hour, more than
double the federal minimum wage,
to afford to rent a modest twobedroom apartment at a fair
market rent without exceeding
their housing budget.
* According to the Living Wage Calculator developed by MIT, Cortland County
at $771 per month. http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/36023
In Cortland County, a single parent with
two children would need $49,188 (after
taxes) annually ($27.90 per hour) to pay
for necessities like rent, food,
transportation and child care. (Living Wage
Calculator MIT)
What is the federal poverty line for a
family of three?
a. $20,090
b. $22,350
c. $40,050
d. $60,050
Millions of families across the
country struggle to pay for highcost necessities like food, rent,
and child care, but the poverty line
is only $20,090 for a family of
three. The official statistics
showing more than 45 million
Americans living in poverty
severely underestimate the
number of Americans struggling to
make ends meet.
What is the NYS average daily SNAP
benefit per person per day?
a. $7.23
b. $5.95
c. $4.89
d. $8.01
That is $1.63 per person per meal.
How many children live in
households struggling with
hunger?
a. One in six
b. One in five
c. One in four
d. One in three
According to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, nearly one in four children, or
23.3 percent, live in households struggling
with hunger. Hunger and food insecurity
affect educational performance and
health outcomes. Undernutrition affects
children's ability to learn. Chronic hunger
therefore results in persistent learning
difficulties, which has long-term impacts on
children. Hunger also contributes to many
health problems, including obesity. It cost
more to eat healthy.
More than one out of every
five children is living in
poverty in the US.
23% of all children
under 18 years old.
(US Census Bureau)
How much does child
poverty cost our economy
every year?
a. $400 million
b. $500 billion
c. $600 million
d. $700 billion
A recent Half in Ten-commissioned
report by Dr. Harry Holzer found
that child poverty costs the
economy more than $500 billion a
year in lost productivity and
increased health care and criminal
justice expenditures. Conversely,
implementing the principle
recommendations from a 2007 CAP
report to cut poverty in half in ten
years would cost $90 billion a
year.
Poverty affects everyone:
The poor are not a static group and widespread
economic insecurity can push families into
poverty for short spells. What’s more, these
trends affect all of us. More people in poverty
means fewer consumers for American goods and
services, which slows our economic growth and
costs us jobs. More people in poverty means
less worker productivity, higher health costs,
and a less-educated workforce to build the jobs
and industries of the future.
A huge share of the nation's economic growth over the past 30
years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who
now make an average of $27 million per household. The
average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.
Wealth Inequality In America
Safety net programs give low income families a
leg up when they fall on hard times. A total
of 40 million individuals were lifted out of
poverty by federal benefits programs in 2011.
The Census Bureau reports
• social security kept 15.3 million people out of
poverty
• unemployment insurance kept 1.7 million people
out of poverty
• SNAP kept 4 million people out of poverty in
2012.
• EITC kept 3.1 million children out of poverty
in 2011.
What Does Inequality and Poverty in
Cortland Actually Look Like?
Transportation:
• No car or only one car
• Public Transportation
• Cost of gas for rural
areas
• Resources located in City
of Cortland
• Access to summer lunch
Food
• Groceries in Marathon,
Cincinnatus
Prices are higher – limited
if any fresh foods/produce
• SNAP – Average $1.63 pp/pd
• Free/Reduced Price Lunches
Cortland County Federal Free / Reduced Lunch
(January 14, 2015)
Percentages
District
Cortland
Enrollment Free Reduced Paid
2989
1169
Cincinnatus
601
286
40
DeRuyter
427
187
27
2116
697
Marathon
731
274
83
McGraw
583
256
37
Homer
County
Total
7447 2869
197 1623
Free
Reduced
Paid
Total F/RPL
39.1%
6.6%
54.3%
45.7%
275
47.6%
6.7%
45.8%
54.2%
213
43.8%
6.3%
49.9%
50.1%
154 1265
32.9%
7.3%
59.8%
40.2%
374
37.5%
11.4%
51.2%
48.8%
290
43.9%
6.3%
49.7%
50.3%
538 4040
38.5%
7.2%
54.3%
45.7%
2014-15 School Year more than 45% of all students
were eligible for free/reduced price lunches in Cortland County
Free Lunch- up to 130% of FPL
Reduced Price Lunch – 130% to 185% of FPL
Phone/internet
• Limited Providers
• Safelink is option for lowincome families
• Go phone/trac phones
• Not having a consistent phone is
an issue when looking for work,
contact with/from schools,
calling doctors or getting calls
from doctor.
Employment
• Lost many major/big
employers (Rubbermaid,
Smith Corona)
• Some employers have entry
level jobs, but tend to be
shift work and with no
transportation, child care
can’t take the jobs.
• Many entry level jobs do
not provide benefits.
Health Care
• Medical care that takes
Medicaid can be challenge
to find
• Limited options for
specialist
• Medicaid transportation
is available but not easy
• No pharmacies in rural
areas.
School
• Participation in after school activities
• Cost of extra-curricular activities
Special trips
• Senior portraits
• Parent/teacher conferences
• Many children in rural areas expected
to work on farms before/after school.
• Cost of school supplies
• If you owe money (lost book, library,
lunch) can’t get your report card or
schedules for next year until paid –
lost textbook can be $60-$80.
• Attendance – children out sick
Utilities
Rural costs are often
higher
Garbage pick up
laundry
Housing
Limited access to
affordable housing in
Cortland
What does this mean?
What do we do now?
For more information:
• Coalition on Human Needs - www.chn.org
•Spotlight on Poverty - www.spotlightonpoverty.org
•Half In Ten – www.halfinten.org
•US Census Bureau - www.census.gov
•Community Action Partnership –
www.communityactionpartnership.com
•NYS Community Action Association www.nyscommunityaction.org
•Cortland County Community Action Program (CAPCO) –
www.capco.org