Minimum Wage in Texas: Educational Essay

Poverty is defined as the state of being poor. However, poverty is also defined in relative and absolute terms. Relative poverty is poverty about the economic status or well-being of others; you're poor if you live under standards that aren't in the context of how society views a 'rich' person. Absolute poverty is the failure to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter based off of money needs. [endnoteRef:1] Poverty is an outcome of the Racial Wealth Gap. The Racial Wealth Gap has plagued Americans for decades. The beginning of this gap began as early as the 1900s and still appears in our communities today. The gap is defined by the median wealth of a white family versus a black family, net worth. The family's net worth is determined by adding total assets (cash, retirement accounts, home, etc.) and subtracting liabilities (credit card debt, student loans, mortgage, etc.).[endnoteRef:2] Sadly, with poverty, there come many more negative outcomes. Living in poverty increases poor health, higher crime rates, and a decrease in education. That’s poverty all over the world. [1: https://www.habitat.org/stories/what-is-poverty dtd 26 MAY 2019 Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that builds and improves homes for families to call theirs. For communities to be strong and stable, families must be able to afford to live. This website provides readers with stories, donation links, about me, and so forth.] [2: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianthompson1/2018/02/18/the-racial-wealth-gap-addressing-americas-most-pressing-epidemic/#4d4d7d6d7a48 dtd 21 MAY 2019 An article submitted that explains why races differ in terms of wealth. I learned what wealth truly means and not the societal definition.]

In the state of Texas, starting in the year 2017, a Hispanic or black child is three times more likely than a white child to live in poverty. The U.S. Census Bureau put the poverty rate down at 14.7% which is lower than the 2011 percentage of 18.5%. Also, 1 in 5 (20.9%) Texas children lived in poverty which took a decline in 2011 when 27% of Texas children were poor. Metro areas in South Texas and predominately Hispanic communities have been ranked the poorest areas within the state of Texas and the highest areas of child poverty. In the year 2017, the Texas median household income sparked up 5%, or $59,206. Texas falls behind 22 other states with them having higher median incomes. Women in 2017 had to work a full-time job, year-round just to be paid 81.4% of what a man would be making on his job.[endnoteRef:3] In 2018, Texas's population was 27,676,343 and of that population, 4,076,905 are living in poverty. 14.7% of people had incomes below the poverty line in 2017 and 20.7% of children under age 18 lived in families with incomes below the poverty line in 2017. 20.7% Latino, 9.0% African American 17.9% Native American, 13.9% White, and 9.8% Asian Americans living in poverty. [endnoteRef:4] In Texas, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, which barely provides for one person, let alone an entire family. Between the years 2016 and 2017, the average total of workers in Texas who were earning at or below the federal minimum wage declined from 3.9% to 3.1%. The percentage of workers earning exactly the federal minimum wage decreased to 1.2% from 1.6%. Lastly, the percentage earning less than minimum wage decreased to 1.9%. Of the working class in Texas earning at or less than minimum wage, 56.5% were women and 43.4% were male. [endnoteRef:5] [3: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/09/13/texas-poverty-census-2017-lowest-levels-decade/ dtd 21 MAY 2019 A Texas article which provides statistics of poverty. Although 2017 has been proven to be a year of improvement for Texas, poverty was still a down factor. This site provides charts from the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a visual to represent poverty in numbers. ] [4: https://talkpoverty.org/state-year-report/texas-2018-report/ dtd 21MAY2019 Great website for statistics. This site provided me with a population of Texas in the year 2018. Also, this website provides me with percentages for different categories and rankings between states. ] [5: https://www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/news-release/minimumwageworkers_texas.htm dtd 26 MAY 2019 Bureau of Labor Statistics talks about minimum wage in Texas and percentage change of people making at or below minimum wage. Also, this page provides charts to back the information provided.]

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Many low-income individuals and families live in public housing and receive SNAP benefits, Medicaid Health Benefits, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Welfare, and many other government assistance programs.[endnoteRef:6] However, some individuals aren’t eligible for these programs. Everyone has heard of food banks and food pantries which provide meals to families. Also, there’s the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which gives federal aid to housing agencies within states. These housing agencies provide housing to low-income families at affordable prices.[endnoteRef:7] These homes come with child protection, cleaning, and property maintenance regulated by the government and security precautions. I plan on starting a program that provides housing and meal packages for families. The housing portion of my project would persist in an apartment-like complex or duplex homes. Families will be able to experience the full feeling of having all the amenities that a regular home would have. The food portion would consist of a delivery system. At the beginning of every month, each family will receive a package based on the number of members in the family. The family food package will consist of a variety of dinner foods, drinks, snacks, and condiments. This will allow the adults to get themselves back on their own feet and eventually be able to provide for their families in ways they wish they could. [6: https://www.usa.gov/benefits dtd 26 MAY 2019 USA.Gov provides information on government benefits available to the people. On this website, you'll find different food, healthcare, housing, and financial assistance benefits that you're eligible to apply for. Lastly, there is a link to find out the requirements for each program. This is great for people who need assistance. ] [7: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/programs/ph dtd 21 MAY 2019 HUG.GOV explains what public housing is. Also, it breaks down the different sections available to an individual.]

To make this project a reality I would like to partner up with Feeding Texas and Volunteers of America as my private sector. I would like to partner up with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs as my public sector. For starters, I intend for each of my partners to fulfill things of the nature that pertain to their organization. I intend to Feeding Texas to help families build a foundation to move toward food security. Within the last year, Feeding Texas fed roughly 500 million pounds of food to families of local communities.[endnoteRef:8] Next, I’d like for Volunteers of America to help me provide housing. Housing will be provided in all areas, which will allow residents to find jobs. Volunteers of America has committed to providing more than 40 housing communities all over the state of Texas and Albuquerque, NM.[endnoteRef:9] Lastly, TDHCA because it is the state agency responsible for affordable housing. TDHCA delivers $2 billion through profit organizations, non-profit organizations, and local government partnerships to provide housing, opportunities, and assistance. [endnoteRef:10] These partners would make the ultimate dream team to defeat poverty. The goal of my organization would be to slowly, but surely rid cities of poverty over time. The main focus would be to continue being consistent with the homes. Once the organization is off to a great start, my volunteers along with myself will continue to keep the housing up to par and accept critiques to better our organization. [8: https://www.feedingtexas.org/work/ dtd 26 MAY 2019 Feeding Texas is a non-profit food bank that provides food all over Texas. Their website provides ways to get involved, about them, latest works, teaching about hunger, and a way to donate.] [9: https://www.voatx.org/affordable-housing dtd 26 MAY 2019 VOA was a great source of housing. The website is straight to the point. Provides its mission, contact information, etc.] [10: https://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/au.htm dtd 26 MAY 2019]

However, during this journey, we will face many obstacles. For me to be able to build a house and provide food to families, the facilities must pass all inspections. For starters, the home must pass the Texas Real Estate Inspector inspection. This inspection will be checking the plumbing, condition of the yard, the interior and exterior of the home, and miscellaneous objects; smoke and carbon monoxide detector, heater/AC unit, and stair handrails. To stay on top of these major tasks, we will plan organize, and schedule days and times dedicated to each area to guarantee that the home is at an acceptable standing for the home inspection[endnoteRef:11] Next, to supply food to a family all volunteers must have a food handling certificate to give food. The facility in which we operate must pass inspection by local food inspection agencies. Therefore, the facility must have storage for foods at the correct temperatures, correct packaging, and a contamination-free environment. Lastly, all transportation must pass state inspection for food drop-off to be a success. To ensure that all aspects of this organization will be met, further research will be done to learn the rules and regulations to run this non-profit and make a change. [11: I found this information to be new to me and useful. I learned that TDHCA is what takes on the responsibility for affordable housing in Texas. It's reliable because it provides readers with its history, therefore, we know it's official and not someone who just up and made an agency. https://www.trec.texas.gov/become-licensed/inspector dtd 27 MAY 2019 This website provides me with what to expect if I ever wanted to sell my home or run a housing facility.]

In conclusion, as the state of Texas continues to change drastically, poverty changes alongside it. As our population grows, the percentage of individuals living in poverty changes, however, the physical being of poverty doesn’t. I'd like to study poverty to the root. What makes poverty a burden on a specific race? What makes a specific area more prone to poverty-ridden individuals than others? How does hourly pay change depending on job title, education, or work experience? These are all things that would make great research in terms of poverty in Texas.

[iChart 1. Percentage of hourly-paid wage and salary workers with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum wage in Texas, annual averages, 2007-2017] https://www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/news-release/minimumwageworkers_texas.htm dtd 12 MAY 2019 NOTE: This infographic shows the average wages an individual earns in Texas. This is proof of how hard making a living for themselves in Texas. As a working teen, a full-time college student who pays her car note and phone bill, making $7.25 per hour and getting paid biweekly barely gets me by. I never realized how little that pay gets anyone by until I was living that life. However, I now see why it’s important to have an education, the higher the education, the more money that goes into your pocket.