How to overcome Fresno’s pervasive poverty? With higher minimum wage and rent control | Opinion

Poverty is pervasive. Poverty has negatively affected the lives of individuals and families across the United States. And it’s begging for society’s attention.

Poverty creates a vicious cycle that affects all stages of life (e.g., childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and end of life). Poverty has adverse effects on an individual’s livelihood, and it is even worse for children. The effects of poverty on children are destructive and have lifelong consequences.

Children raised in poverty are often exposed to toxic (prolonged) stress. According to First 5 California, toxic stress has been associated with short-term effects in immunity, behavior, anxiety, and learning difficulties. The long-term effects include greater risk of mental and medical health issues, poor education outcomes, lower quality of life and shortened life expectancy.

Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau released poverty data for 2022, stating childhood poverty has nearly doubled in the past year. Examining Fresno County, California’s most productive agricultural region and the “breadbasket of the world,” the census reports 31% of the child population lives in poverty. Children of color, specifically Black and Hispanic, were reported as the most impacted racial and ethnic groups.

With Fresno’s history of racism evident by redlining and wage gaps, it is not shocking to see that people of color are disproportionately affected by poverty. For instance, a clear divide can be seen south of Shaw Avenue. Characterized by abandoned lots, unkempt roads, and lack of amenities, it is not surprising this area has been described as the Mason-Dixon Line of Fresno.

Fresno County reported about 22% of the population are immigrants who are employed in the agricultural industry. These low-paying and seasonal jobs do not provide stability for immigrants, nor agricultural workers, to acquire financial stability. More than half of Fresnans that rent are cost burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. Between low-paying wages and high rent prices, immigrant families are unable to stay financially above water.

To mitigate the effects of poverty, social safety net programs have been used to protect families from the impact of economic shock and crises. And while they have been able to decrease the intensity of poverty, a disentanglement of factors arises when looking at how well they work. Accessibility of the safety net, willingness to use safety net resources, and eligibility of safety net programs are considerations that may hinder their effectiveness. Even then, these programs are only supposed to be a temporary fix.

The demand for these relief programs has only risen as childhood poverty continues to increase. This brings to question, what needs to be done for change to happen?

Acknowledging that childhood poverty stems from familial poverty, it is recommended that policies should target uplifting families. This includes closing the wage gap by creating equitable pay and raising the minimum wage. Immigrant workers are often paid 42% lower than native workers. This wage gap disproportionately serves immigrant workers, predisposing them to lower income and poverty status.

With consideration to immigrant families, willingness to use safety net programs may be decreased due to fear and interference with immigration processing. These pose a threat and possible barriers to potential families. To combat barriers to safety net policies, politicians need to advocate for de-stigmatizing safety net programs.

Poverty begets poverty. Without expeditious and efficacious policy change in increasing access to safety net programs, raising wages, and revising California rent control; generational poverty will continue in Fresno.