The Working Poor Are Becoming Homeless and Congress’ Response: Defund The ACA

[NHLabor]

Today the New York Times posted an article “In New York, Having a Job, or 2, Doesn’t Mean Having a Home” and if you have not already read it, you should. It tells the stories of people who work in NYC and are forced to live in a homeless shelter.

“On many days, Alpha Manzueta gets off from one job at 7 a.m., only to start her second at noon. In between she goes to a place she’s called home for the last three years — a homeless shelter.”

This truly depressing story is about the working poor. The working poor are those who have a job (or as the article highlights two jobs) and still are below the poverty level. This is a huge problem. In NYC over 50,000 people call a homeless shelter their home.

“More than one out of four families in shelters, 28 percent, include at least one employed adult, city figures show, and 16 percent of single adults in shelters hold jobs.”

This is just another example of how low wage jobs do not provide enough for people to actually live.

“A one-bedroom in East New York or the South Bronx is still $1,000 a month,” said Patrick Markee, senior policy analyst with the Coalition for the Homeless, an advocacy and housing services group. “The jobs aren’t enough to get people out of homelessness.”

New York City is not alone when it comes to working poor. There is not one state in the entire country where a low-wage worker can afford a two bedroom apartment working 40 hours a week. In many states a low-wage worker needs to work over 100 hours a week to afford an apartment.

READ THE FULL POST AT NH LABOR NEWS

[blkmusclmachine]

1. The GOPee only panders to the 1%.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. And, as the article points out, the GOP Congress wants to cut SNAP funding too (nt)