Outlook丨How many “poor busy people” are there in the United States
2024-08-10
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◇In 2021, 37.9 million Americans had incomes below the poverty line, and 6.4 million people were considered “working poor”
◇Take Amazon and Walmart as examples. These two companies employ a large number of poor Americans who rely on SNAP for food. Because these people already have a certain living security, the companies pay them very low wages. SNAP is a program established by the federal government with taxpayers' money. This means that these taxes have become subsidies for large companies such as Amazon in disguise.
◇Since the word "exploitation" carries a moral connotation, many Americans believe that exploitation must exist in American society, but they are emotionally unwilling to acknowledge this fact.
◇Nearly 23% of American workers are in low-paid jobs, compared with 17% in the UK, 11% in Japan and 5% in Italy.
◇"When Americans see a homeless person wrapped in a blanket, we often wonder how he has failed. When the French see the same person, they wonder how the country has failed this person."
Text | "Outlook" News Weekly reporters Xu Yuan and Deng Xianlai
Two workers unload goods at the door of a store in New York, the United States (Photo taken on January 6, 2023) Photo by Zhu Ziyu/This magazine
There is a word in English called "working poor", which is translated as "employed poor" or "busy poor". It refers to some people who work all day but their wages are barely enough to maintain their basic livelihood.
Today, the unemployment rate in the United States is at a historical low according to official statistics, but there are still many "working poor". The reasons for this can be summarized as the low hourly wage standard and the long-term lack of adjustment, rampant exploitative behaviors such as employers suppressing wages, loopholes in the social welfare system, and deep-rooted discrimination against the poor. These factors have jointly caused the problem of "working poverty" to be very prominent.
6.4 million “working poor”
In the labor market, the economic conditions of different groups of people in the United States vary greatly, and there are different categories of poor people according to different definitions. Among them, the "working poor" who have worked in the labor market for 27 weeks or more are particularly noteworthy. Although they have income, their income level is lower than the official poverty line.
The latest data released by the U.S. Census Bureau in November 2023 showed that 37.9 million people in the United States had income levels below the poverty line in 2021. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics further showed that 6.4 million people were "working poor" in 2021, and the poverty status of different types of people varied.
First, in terms of gender, the proportion of "working poor" among women is 4.5%, higher than that of men at 3.7%.
Second, in terms of race, ethnic minorities are more likely to fall into "working poverty." Among them, the proportion of Hispanics or Latinos is 7.3%, and that of blacks or African Americans is 6.4%, both higher than the 3.6% of whites. The proportion of "working poor people" of Asians is relatively low, at 2.7%.
Third, among those with an education level below high school, 12.7% are “working poor,” while among those with a college degree or above, this proportion is only 1.3%.
Fourth, service workers are more likely to become "working poor". In 2021, 8.4% of service workers were classified as such, about 2 million people, accounting for about one-third of all "working poor". In contrast, people engaged in management, professional and technical and related occupations are less likely to fall into poverty. In 2021, only 1.4% of this group were "working poor".
In addition, statistics show that part-time workers are more likely to fall into poverty than full-time workers, but there are still many full-time workers living below the poverty line.
Low salary level
The United States has one of the lowest hourly wage standards among developed countries. The federal minimum wage has remained at a low level of $7.25 since 2009 and has not been adjusted for inflation for many years - due to inflation, the real purchasing power of American workers has continued to decline since 1979. Even in the highest-income states, the minimum hourly wage is only $15, which is not enough for workers to afford a one-bedroom apartment.
A report released by the Economic Policy Institute in June 2022 showed that among the gig workers in the United States, 14% earned less than the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25, and 30% survived by receiving government food stamps.
People who rely on tips are also at risk of falling into poverty. The federal government has set a minimum hourly wage of $2.13 for workers with tip income. Statistics from 2021 show that in states that implement this standard, more than 14% of tipped workers have income levels below the poverty line.
On October 20, 2023, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Poverty submitted a report on the situation of "working poverty" in the United States to the United Nations General Assembly, detailing the working and living conditions of low-wage workers in the United States. Subsequently, the Special Rapporteur published letters he sent to major American companies such as Amazon, Walmart and DoorDash, a food delivery platform, accusing these companies of being the direct cause of the problem of "working poverty" in the United States. The Special Rapporteur also sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor, accusing the U.S. government of failing to adequately protect workers and that there are loopholes in U.S. laws and policies.
In the letter, the Special Rapporteur accused these companies of failing to pay workers a living wage and benefits. Take DoorDash, for example, as a platform-based company with an astonishing growth rate, the company has a high turnover of employees but low wages and meager benefits, which is also a common problem among similar companies.
The special rapporteur also pointed out that although Amazon employees' minimum hourly wage reached $15, which is higher than the minimum hourly wage set by the federal government, the company's working environment is poor and the employee injury rate is extremely high, which reduces the actual disposable income of employees. In particular, workers working in Amazon warehouses are twice as likely to be seriously injured on the job as their peers.
A report released in October 2023 by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago showed that two-thirds of Amazon warehouse workers surveyed were forced to take unpaid leave due to persistent pain and fatigue caused by work, and 34% took unpaid leave three or more times. Beth Gutelius, director of the center, accused Amazon of "injuries and pain that are much more common than previously known."
Illegal exploitation is rampant
In a letter to large American companies, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Poverty pointed out that these companies exploit their employees through a variety of illegal means, including hiring a large number of poor people participating in the US Federal Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to reduce their wages.
Take Amazon and Walmart as examples. These two companies employ a large number of poor Americans who rely on SNAP for food. Because these people already have a certain living security, the companies pay them very low wages. SNAP is a program established by the federal government with taxpayers' money. This means that these taxes have become subsidies for large companies such as Amazon in disguise.
Relevant statistics show that in Arizona, one in three Amazon employees participates in SNAP. In Pennsylvania and Ohio, one in ten Amazon employees participate in SNAP. Every year, about $150 billion in taxes spent on federal welfare programs such as SNAP eventually become profits for major American companies such as Amazon, Walmart and McDonald's.
Dissatisfied with this violation of employees' legitimate rights and interests, US left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders launched a bill called "Stop (Amazon CEO) Bezos" in 2018, requiring companies that employ SNAP beneficiaries to impose additional taxes and requiring related companies to pay employees a living wage. For example, if an Amazon employee received $300 in relief funds through SNAP, Amazon would have to pay an additional $300 in taxes.
Matthew Desmond, a professor of sociology at Princeton University, pointed out the phenomenon of ruthless exploitation of the poor in American society in his 2023 book on poverty in the United States. He wrote that since the word "exploitation" carries a moral judgment, many Americans believe that exploitation must exist in American society, but they are emotionally reluctant to admit this fact. However, "exploitation" as a sociological concept has clear measurement criteria. For example, when workers' wages are lower than the value of their labor, they are experiencing "labor exploitation"; when consumers pay a price higher than the value of the goods they buy, they are experiencing "consumer exploitation."
Citing data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Desmond noted that American workers have one of the lowest wages among developed countries, with nearly 23% of American workers working in low-income jobs, compared with 17% in the UK, 11% in Japan and 5% in Italy.
Social welfare cannot keep up
One of the important reasons for the increasing number of poor groups such as the "working poor" in the United States is the imperfect welfare system in the United States. Desmond pointed out in his book that the US government has not been stingy in spending on poverty alleviation, but the results are minimal because the US welfare system is full of loopholes.
Desmond wrote that in the 1980s, the Reagan administration introduced a welfare program that mainly provided cash assistance to single-parent families. In 1996, the Clinton administration implemented welfare reform and abolished the program and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. According to the regulations, the US states have a lot of autonomy in how to use TANF funds, resulting in many states' funds not benefiting those who really need them.
For example, Arizona uses this welfare money to pay for abstinence-based sex education, Pennsylvania uses the funds to help abortion organizations establish "crisis pregnancy centers," and Maine uses the money to support summer camps organized by Christian churches... Statistics show that in 2020, the amount directly received by poor American families was only 22% of the budget set by the US government for the TANF project, which means that the large amount of aid funds allocated by the government to the poor rarely actually reaches them.
Deep-rooted discrimination
From national leaders to ordinary people, Americans often talk about the "American Dream", using this "national business card" to promote the so-called equal opportunities and democratic freedoms in American society.
The context of the "American Dream" implies a social consensus that as long as you work hard, you will succeed. Conversely, Americans believe that those who are unsuccessful do not work hard. This view has led to deep-rooted discrimination against the poor in American society, resulting in a lack of attention to the poor, insufficient policy support, and a high number of "working poor".
Discrimination against the poor is "deeply rooted in the marrow of this country." William Byrd, an 18th-century Virginia plantation owner, said the poor were "insufferably lazy" and "lazy about everything except having children," Desmond wrote. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, advocated putting homeless people "who waste their time in idle and dissolute behavior" in poorhouses. In 2004, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said of the poor: "They are irresponsible and lazy because that's poverty, ladies and gentlemen."
"Poor people don't work" is a common American stereotype, but it is often not true. According to a 2016 survey by the American Enterprise Institute, nearly two-thirds of respondents believed that most poor people do not have stable jobs, and more than one-third of respondents believed that most people receiving welfare would rather continue to rely on government relief than find a job to make a living. In fact, most non-disabled working-age adults were in the labor force that year.
A 2013 study by Ofer Sharone, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, found that Americans believe that workers' unemployment is due to their own fault, while Israelis believe that the reason is an unreasonable recruitment system. Sharone said: "When Americans see a homeless person wrapped in a blanket, we often want to know how he failed. When the French see the same person, they want to know how the country failed this person."
(Outlook, 2024, No. 33)
