HispanicVista Columnists

PART II - When I look at the world

By Erika Robles

April 4, 2005

More than 30 million Americans--one in four workers--are stuck in low-wage jobs that do not provide the basics for a decent life. In 1962, Michael Harrington stirred the conscience of the nation with the publication of The Other America. He reminded a country basking in the glow of postwar prosperity that poverty was alive and well.

Thirty million Americans make less than $8.70 an hour, the official US poverty level for a family of four. Their low-wage, no-benefits jobs translate into billions of dollars in profits, executive pay, high stock prices and low store prices. Low-wage workers are security guards and childcare givers. They are nursing-home workers and retail clerks. They are hospital orderlies and teachers' assistants. They are hotel workers and pharmacy technicians. They de-bone the chicken that we eat, clean the office buildings where we work and handle our questions and complaints at call centers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 35,861,000 Americans living below the 100 percent poverty guidelines in 2003. Of all of those Americans living in poverty, Hispanics accounted for more than 25 percent and Black-Americans for more than 24.4 percent of the total of the population living in poverty. These numbers indicate that more than 22.5 percent of Hispanics living in the U.S. in 2003 lived below the 100 percent poverty level. Furthermore, 14.7 percent of Hispanics lived 75 percent below poverty guidelines and 8.4 percent below 50.

Although we would like to believe that the situation has gotten better and not worse, the opposite has happened in recent years. The percentage of Hispanics living in poverty did however go down gradually from an astonishing 30.7 percent in 1994 to a 21.4 percent in 2001, with its biggest drop between 1998 and 1999. However, since 2001, the percentage of poor Hispanics has increased with no signs of getting any better.

The truth is that the United States is divided between the haves and the have-nots. Although the same can be seen in other parts of the world, the fact that the United States is the richest nation in the world and yet there are still people going hungry because of food insecurity seems unreal. The United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) reports that in 2000, twelve percent of all American households were "food insecure." This means that 1 in 10 households did not have enough to eat. Of these families, 8.5 million people had to skip or reduce their meals.

The Hispanic unemployment rate rose from 6.1 percent in January 2005 to 6.4 percent in February, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the Hispanic unemployment is not as low when compared to the White population (4.6 percent in February 2005) or as high as the Black population (10.9 percent), the percentage of poverty found in the Black and Hispanic communities is way out of proportion.

Although in actual numbers there are more White people living in poverty, when placed in percentages, the poverty rate of Hispanics and Black Americans is worrisome. According to the Census Bureau, 8 percent of White Americans live in poverty, compared to 23.7 percent of Black-Americans and 21.9 percent of Hispanics. 

One of the reasons why a great percentage of Hispanics live in poverty is the inadequate wages they receive for their labor, no matter how hard or how many hours they work, their pay, in most instances, is going to be lower than their white co-worker. It is a problematic cycle that needs to be tackled at its core.

It is time to address the core problems of hunger and poverty, here and around the world, instead of denying its existence or blaming the individuals for being too poor. The United States has tolerated wider income disparities and deeper levels of hunger and poverty than any other developed nation in the world and it is high time the richest and most powerful nation finds a solution to this injustice.  Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living, including food, medical care, housing, clothing and social services.

The world has become an unfair place for most of its inhabitants; a world where breathing has become a luxury; a world where only the privileged few can enjoy it.

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Erika Robles, a contributing columnist to HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com),  is a writer and translator now living in Eugene, Oregon. She was educated in Mexico City; London, England; and Melbourne, Australia. Contact at: erobleswords@yahoo.com Web page: http://www.geocities.com/oakspublishing