Balanced approach needed to fight growing poverty in Maryland

In our last blog, we wrote about how more and more people in Maryland are having a hard time putting food on their tables. The news this week is no better, unfortunately. One quarter of Baltimore City now lives in poverty, according to new data released by the Census Bureau. The pain isn’t confined to urban areas, though. The widespread impact of the recent recession can be seen in rising poverty rates across every region of the state.

The growing poverty in our state is an example of why we need to take a balanced approach to Maryland’s state finances that includes revenue rather than a cuts-only approach. Continuing deep cuts to important services would mean our state will face even higher poverty rates as more low- and middle-income people fall below the poverty line. 

For Maryland as a whole, the poverty rate increased to 9.9 percent in 2010, from 9.1 percent in 2009. Poverty rates increased in 9 of the 14 Maryland  counties for which the Census Bureau reports data. The largest jumps occurred in Wicomico, Calvert and Prince George’s Counties and Baltimore City.

There are now 154,000 Baltimore residents officially in poverty compared with 130,000 in 2009. The picture is similarly bleak in parts of rural Maryland, with 17 percent of Allegany County residents and 18 percent of Wicomico County residents below the poverty level.

The spread of poverty is particularly severe for minorities. In 2010, 15.5 percent of Maryland’s African-Americans and 13.7 percent of Latinos earned an income below the poverty level. For non-Hispanic whites, the poverty rate is 6.4 percent.  

For children under 18, the rate of poverty is 13 percent.

The Census Bureau bases its calculations on the Federal Poverty Level, which doesn’t take into account the varying cost of living from state to state. Maryland is more expensive than most states. So many people here, while not below the federal poverty level of $22,000 for a family of four, are still struggling to make ends meet.

Compounding the hardships of low-income Marylanders are the deep cuts the state has made to health care, education and other key services that struggling families need.  Continuing to rely only on cuts in services will make it harder for working families and the poor to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. With a balanced approach that includes revenues we can invest in our state’s economy and promote job creation.

Congress also must take a balanced approach to deficit reduction that relies on both responsible cuts and ways to increase revenue. We must stop reductions in Medicaid and other critical supports for struggling families so that those most in need can weather this difficult economy. Federal assistance, in the form of unemployment insurance, expanded food stamps, and tax credits for middle- and low-income households are essential lifelines to those living below or near the poverty line.

As bad as poverty is today, these services kept millions more Americans from falling below the poverty line in 2010, accourding to Census data.