Arizona's hunger and poverty merit more political attention
The Arizona Daily Star recently printed an article regarding a possible minimum-wage increase in Arizona ("Minimum wage may get chance in Arizona," June 18), from $5.15 per hour to $6.75.
Should Arizona increase the minimum wage, thousands of Arizonans will remain in poverty. The present income threshold for the federal poverty level is $9.30 per hour. The sad truth is it would be extremely difficult to live on $9.30 per hour, let alone $6.75.
The article indicated the average wage in Arizona today is $16.80 per hour, or $2,912 per month. A national study conducted by Columbia University showed that a typical family of four living on $3,226 per month, or $18.61 per hour, accumulated a total of $3,245 in expenses each month, or a deficit of $19, even before buying food.
Poverty costs all of us thousands of dollars each year. The real tragedy is the children residing in low-income homes. In the Tucson Unified School District alone, over 30,000 of our future leaders are low-income.
It's not right that thousands of local children go to bed hungry in Pima County. It's not right that senior citizens must choose between medication and food.
Good-paying jobs and a trained work force are a beginning. Perhaps it's time for our elected officials to take a serious look at the problem, and make hunger and poverty a priority in Arizona.
William D. Carnegie is president and CEO of the Tucson Community Food Bank. Write him at BCarnegie@communityfoodbank.com.
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