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The Economic Consequences of Homelessness in The US

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spouse have an FSA, the family limit is $5,000—but you could get as much as $2,000 <strong>in</strong><br />

tax sav<strong>in</strong>gs if your comb<strong>in</strong>ed contributions reach the maximum.<br />

Education and Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />

Some argue that more vocational tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and active labour market policies, especially<br />

<strong>in</strong> growth <strong>in</strong>dustries like healthcare and renewable energy, is the solution to work<strong>in</strong>g<br />

poverty. To be sure, wider availability <strong>of</strong> vocational tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g could pull some people out<br />

<strong>of</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g poverty, but the fact rema<strong>in</strong>s that the low-wage service sector is a rapidly<br />

grow<strong>in</strong>g part <strong>of</strong> the <strong>US</strong> economy. Even if more nurs<strong>in</strong>g and clean energy jobs were<br />

added to the economy, there would still be a huge portion <strong>of</strong> the workforce <strong>in</strong> low-wage<br />

service sector jobs like retail, food service, and clean<strong>in</strong>g. <strong>The</strong>refore, it seems clear that<br />

any significant reduction <strong>in</strong> the work<strong>in</strong>g poverty rate will have to come from <strong>of</strong>fer<strong>in</strong>g<br />

higher wages and more benefits to the current, and future, population <strong>of</strong> service sector<br />

workers.<br />

Child Support Assurance<br />

Given the fact that such a large proportion <strong>of</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g poor households are headed by a<br />

s<strong>in</strong>gle mother, one clear way to reduce work<strong>in</strong>g poverty would be to make sure that<br />

children's fathers share the cost <strong>of</strong> child rear<strong>in</strong>g. In cases where the father cannot<br />

provide child support, scholars like Irw<strong>in</strong> Garf<strong>in</strong>kel advocate for the implementation <strong>of</strong> a<br />

child support guarantee, whereby the government pays childcare costs if the father<br />

cannot. Child support is not always a guarantee if the father or mother does not work.<br />

For example, if the parent without custody is not work<strong>in</strong>g then the parent with custody<br />

does not receive any child support unless the non work<strong>in</strong>g parent is employed at their<br />

job longer than 90 days, exclud<strong>in</strong>g if the non beg<strong>in</strong>s to work for its a city or government.<br />

Also, the government does not pay for childcare cost if you make more than the cut <strong>of</strong>f<br />

range (your gross, per county or state.)<br />

Marriage<br />

Households with two wage-earners have a significantly lower rate <strong>of</strong> work<strong>in</strong>g poverty<br />

than households with only one wage-earner. Also, households with two adults, but only<br />

one wage-earner, have lower work<strong>in</strong>g poverty rates than households with only one<br />

adult. <strong>The</strong>refore, it seems clear that hav<strong>in</strong>g two adults <strong>in</strong> a household, especially if there<br />

are children present, is more likely to keep a household out <strong>of</strong> poverty than hav<strong>in</strong>g just<br />

one adult <strong>in</strong> a household. Many scholars and policymakers have used this fact to argue<br />

that encourag<strong>in</strong>g people to get married and stay married is an effective way to reduce<br />

work<strong>in</strong>g poverty (and poverty <strong>in</strong> general). However, this is easier said than done.<br />

Research has shown that low-<strong>in</strong>come people marry less <strong>of</strong>ten than higher-<strong>in</strong>come<br />

people because they have a more difficult time f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g a partner who is employed, which<br />

is <strong>of</strong>ten seen as a prerequisite for marriage. <strong>The</strong>refore, unless the employment<br />

Page 62 <strong>of</strong> 289

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