In Texas, poverty has been a consistent and growing problem for the state that up to one in four children are living in poverty and one-fifth of its population is living below the poverty line (Brown, 2015). Due to poor education or lack thereof, set minimum wage and underemployment, and lack of access to affordable healthcare of any kind, poverty continues to dominate the state of Texas as it raises the title of “the state with the 11th highest poverty rate in the nation” (Cadik, 2014). Along with these causes, possible solutions will also be discussed on how to begin to improve the quality of life for impoverished Texans.
The public school system in Texas as well as America has long been a topic of both debate and promotion, especially for …show more content…
Many efforts have been seen and heard across America that have raised the question, “Should America raise the minimum wage?” For Texas, it is no different. More than half of the state of Texas is made up of minorities, particularly Hispanics, whom typically show lower levels of education and, consequently, high levels of poverty (Luhby, 2011). Hispanics are also the minority that is typically seen taking on low-end jobs that are on the lower end of the pay scale, especially in south Texas. With the growth of the Hispanic minority projected to rise by 43%, more jobs will need to be created (Brown, 2015). Unfortunately, these jobs will be created with minimum wage or less being the pay scale. For low-income families and minorities already living in poverty, this will require an immense amount of extra effort to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet. For South Texas, underemployment will rise drastically if creating jobs don’t keep up with growing population of Hispanic families that reside there (Stoeltje, 2016). In addition, Texas’ hourly workforce is made up of minimum wage workers with a stand out 9.5% percentage, which falls second after first place Mississippi (Luhby, 2011). With so many workers working at the minimum wage level, it is no wonder that Texas ranks number 6 in the country with people living in poverty (Luhby, 2011). As for the children in …show more content…
In Texas, however, with the state being a heavily dominated republican state, the high percentage of uninsured residents in the state says other wise. Texas currently has the highest percentage of uninsured residents, with that percentage being nearly 25% (Brown, 2015). Regarding families living in poverty, the Texas Coverage Gap is an umbrella term that most of these low-income and disadvantaged families fall under. The Coverage Gap means that these families do not qualify or have no affordable access to health care of any kind, but actually would and could be qualified if Texas were to decide to accept funding for health expenses in order to cover them (CPPP, 2016). Because of the low-income that families in poverty receive, they consequently do not qualify for health care assistance. This means that heads of households who are stuck working in full time minimum wage do not qualify for assistance since, on average, their annual income totals around $15,080 per household (Groves, Lee, & Strandberg, 2015). The lack of access to health care by these impoverished families only adds fuel to the problem of poverty since this basic need is not being met. Several attempts at health care reforms have taken place in order to fix /close the gap such as “Obamacare,” or “The Affordable Care Act.” Although this reform brought much controversy, it was able to expand care to families that were
The public school system in Texas as well as America has long been a topic of both debate and promotion, especially for …show more content…
Many efforts have been seen and heard across America that have raised the question, “Should America raise the minimum wage?” For Texas, it is no different. More than half of the state of Texas is made up of minorities, particularly Hispanics, whom typically show lower levels of education and, consequently, high levels of poverty (Luhby, 2011). Hispanics are also the minority that is typically seen taking on low-end jobs that are on the lower end of the pay scale, especially in south Texas. With the growth of the Hispanic minority projected to rise by 43%, more jobs will need to be created (Brown, 2015). Unfortunately, these jobs will be created with minimum wage or less being the pay scale. For low-income families and minorities already living in poverty, this will require an immense amount of extra effort to take on multiple jobs to make ends meet. For South Texas, underemployment will rise drastically if creating jobs don’t keep up with growing population of Hispanic families that reside there (Stoeltje, 2016). In addition, Texas’ hourly workforce is made up of minimum wage workers with a stand out 9.5% percentage, which falls second after first place Mississippi (Luhby, 2011). With so many workers working at the minimum wage level, it is no wonder that Texas ranks number 6 in the country with people living in poverty (Luhby, 2011). As for the children in …show more content…
In Texas, however, with the state being a heavily dominated republican state, the high percentage of uninsured residents in the state says other wise. Texas currently has the highest percentage of uninsured residents, with that percentage being nearly 25% (Brown, 2015). Regarding families living in poverty, the Texas Coverage Gap is an umbrella term that most of these low-income and disadvantaged families fall under. The Coverage Gap means that these families do not qualify or have no affordable access to health care of any kind, but actually would and could be qualified if Texas were to decide to accept funding for health expenses in order to cover them (CPPP, 2016). Because of the low-income that families in poverty receive, they consequently do not qualify for health care assistance. This means that heads of households who are stuck working in full time minimum wage do not qualify for assistance since, on average, their annual income totals around $15,080 per household (Groves, Lee, & Strandberg, 2015). The lack of access to health care by these impoverished families only adds fuel to the problem of poverty since this basic need is not being met. Several attempts at health care reforms have taken place in order to fix /close the gap such as “Obamacare,” or “The Affordable Care Act.” Although this reform brought much controversy, it was able to expand care to families that were