We should plug the safety net’s biggest hole

Over the past half-century, the U.S. safety net has become much stronger for children and seniors, and their poverty has decreased significantly. But the story is quite different for another group of Americans we hear less about: non-elderly adults aged 18 to 64 who are not raising children and do not have sufficiently severe or long-term disabilities. . To meet the strict standards for federal disability benefits.

This is not a small group. In 2017, the last year for which data comparable to previous years were available, that number reached 106 million people, nearly one-third of the country’s uninstitutionalized population. corresponds to Their poverty rate is similar to that of children; deep Poverty rate — percentage of people living with: half poverty line — teeth double it’s for the kids.

Because of the weak safety net for this group, they currently account for one in two people living in deep poverty in America, make up the majority of homeless people, and are likely to pay more than half of their limited living expenses. Become the highest people. Rent income.

Federal and state policymakers have supported this group, including by expanding access to supports such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food and rent assistance, and basic health insurance, as well as key services such as job training. It’s time to do more to improve mental health care. This will reduce poverty for this group and enable them to work better.

Consider how the safety net treats this group compared to other groups. Social programs lift 69 percent of older adults and 44 percent of children out of poverty who would otherwise be poor.But social programs lift people out of poverty. only 8 percent Only one in 12 otherwise poor childless adults aged 18 to 64 receive disability benefits.

That’s because these people don’t have the benefits that many other Americans receive.

• They have the following qualifications no Federal cash assistance excluding the small federal earned income tax credit (average $300 per year) given to some low-wage workers who are not raising children.many state While they once provided small amounts of monthly cash assistance to this group of needy individuals, only 11 states now provide cash assistance unless they are classified as severely disabled or incapacitated. There is.
• The federal tax system taxes or pushes more than 5 million low-wage workers in this group into deeper poverty. This is because their payroll and income taxes exceed the small earned income tax credit they are entitled to. They are the only people in America who are taxed and even poorer.
• With some exceptions, poor individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 who do not have dependent children and are not classified as disabled or incapacitated receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which we You can receive food assistance through what we used to call food stamps. only 3 months When you don’t work more than 20 hours a week 3 years. Looking for a job doesn’t count as a work activity, so even people who look for work and don’t find one will lose their benefits at the three-month mark.
• Due to limited rental assistance funds available, only one in five individuals eligible for federal rental assistance receives assistance.
• Millions of these people live in one of the 10 states that have not yet adopted the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion and remain uninsured.
• Low-wage workers are about half as likely to receive unemployment insurance benefits as high-wage workers.

All of this is not only to the detriment of these people. Their poverty also has a negative impact on the country’s economy, as it becomes difficult for them to become productive members of the workforce.

Many policymakers and experts argue that these people should go out and work, and that further government aid would undermine their work ethic. But extreme poverty, hunger, and lack of stable housing and health care can make it difficult for them to find and keep jobs. Inadequate job training and community mental health services exacerbate the problem, especially given the large number of people in this group. suffer from health problems Even if you don’t receive disability benefits.

Here’s the good news. We have significantly reduced poverty among the elderly and children in recent decades (though much more needs to be done). In addition, by combining the following measures, poverty can be similarly reduced for non-elderly people who are not raising children. Enhanced earned income tax credits for this group (which lawmakers enacted for one year in 2021), improved food and rental assistance, basic health insurance for them in every state, a better unemployment insurance system and a federal minimum. It’s a wage increase.

Other wealthy countries generally do more To ensure that these people have a roof over their head, food on the table, and basic health care. Not only for their benefit, but for our own as a nation, we should too.

Robert Greenstein is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project and founder and past president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.