Posts Tagged: poverty
Opinion
OPINION: It is no secret that Californians are living longer, but not necessarily better. By 2030, the state’s senior population will increase by 4 million people, yet the state is woefully unprepared to care for this growing and financially unstable demographic. The lack of any strategy or organized master plan has pushed millions of seniors into poverty, unable to access high-quality, affordable healthcare, dental care, housing and supportive services.
Opinion
OPINION: According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s report The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2015, nearly eight million people in California were living in poverty in 2015. The report indicated that the state’s poverty rate was 20.6 percent—well above the national rate of 15.1 percent—and surpassed the rates of every other state in the nation.
News
High housing costs, electricity and gas prices are the main reasons California has the highest poverty rate in the nation, according to state Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes. The Yucca Valley legislator has made alleviating poverty his top priority. “I think increasing the quality of life for people we serve is the overall goal,” he said. “If you have poverty as a measuring stick, California is failing worse than every other state in the country.”
News
California’s job and economic growth has outpaced much of the nation in recent years. That growth, however, has not eliminated one of the state’s biggest challenges: poverty. This week, State Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes called poverty California’s No. 1 priority during a forum of legislative leaders in Sacramento.
News
A majority of Californians believe poverty is a serious problem, but they disagree over what to do about it. That’s according to a survey conducted for our California Counts public radio collaboration. The survey by CALSPEAKS asked hundreds of voters and some nonvoters across California how they feel about a range of economic issues, from home ownership and job security to wage disparity and upward mobility.
Opinion
OPINION: By 2030, California’s over-65 population is expected to be 87 percent higher than it was in 2012 – an increase of more than four million people. According to a 2014 AARP survey, nearly 90 percent of senior households say they would like to stay in their current residences and communities for as long as possible.
Opinion
The California minimum wage increase has been approved. The minimum wage will rise by $1 per hour through 2022, up to $15. There are significant costs to employers, both public and private, besides the $5-per-hour increase. Inflation is one of those costs. Let’s look at the real results and implications of what our elected officials have done to us and for themselves on many levels. And let’s find the unintended consequences.
Opinion
While lawmakers were cutting themselves up over the thorny minimum wage bill this week, a powerful conversation took place three blocks away from the capitol. Industry, union and college leaders were working through the pragmatic next steps on a modest proposal to move more Californians from minimum wage to medium wages and higher.
Opinion
OPINION: Political pundits are saying Gov. Brown, Senate Leader Kevin de León and Sen. Fran Pavley suffered a major political defeat when SB 32 was pulled back and the fuel reduction provisions of SB 350 were removed. We don’t see it that way. This was one skirmish in a long-term battle to balance our environmental, social and economic goals.
Opinion
With news this week that California’s tax revenues came in $6-$8 billion stronger than previous estimates, California now has an undeniable choice: a high road that lifts up all our people and strengthens our state, or a low road that ignores the nearly one in four residents who live below the poverty line in the wealthiest state in the nation.
A senior citizen on a pension displays the remaining funds for this month. (Photo: Gudrun Speck)
