Utah's poverty rate rising, study shows

State officials call Utah a wonderful place to live and brag about its higher education, beautiful neighborhoods and quality of life.

But a Utah think tank and advocacy group for low-income residents is painting a different picture.

"We're trying to show what is happening to low-income people in the state," said Heather Tritten of Utah Issues, which recently released a 90-page study.

The study found Utah's poverty rate to be 10.6 percent -- based on poverty guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services. That's up 1.2 percent since 2000. And while that isn't too surprising, given the recession in the interim, the study also found poverty decreased in many other states during the same period.

But the biggest problem the study found, Tritten said, was that wages in the state aren't sufficient to support a reasonable standard of living. Specifically, it found Utahns make an average of $12.20 per hour. To put that in perspective, it said that given the average price for a two-bedroom apartment, individuals need to earn $13.36 per hour to afford one without spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. And while frugal living may make that possible for a worker with average pay, the 40 percent of workers who make less than $11.05 (the benchmark the study used for the minimum amount two parents need to earn to meet their basic needs) have a much harder time with housing, the report states.

And those wages, the report found, haven't made much progress in the last 25 years. It reported that when adjusted for inflation, the average worker actually earns less now ($12.20 per hour) than in 1979, when the average was $12.57. This decline goes against the grain of the West, and the nation as a whole, where wages increased during the same period, the report states.

Low wages and high housing prices, it said, have led to homelessness. A count during winter 2005, it reported, found 2,470 homeless people in shelters, although it did not compare that number to other years. But that number, it added, didn't include those in transitional housing, those who camp and those who live in cars.

Another problem in the state, it said, is that low-income households are far more likely to have health issues. It reported that low-income people, even though most of them are employed, are four times more likely to be uninsured, far less likely to have access to job-based coverage and are also more likely to have medical debt.

In addition, it said families in less-than-affordable housing move around more, making it harder to hold down jobs. And substandard housing, it found, makes children more likely to suffer from stunted growth, iron deficiency, asthma and lead poisoning -- and they are more likely to miss time at school.

And, echoing a concern expressed recently by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., it criticized the state's tax system, which gives Utahns the 14th-highest tax burden in the nation (based on the portion of their income taken up by taxes). It also stated that those with incomes below $16,000 pay 11.4 percent in taxes while those with incomes above $280,000 pay just 5.5 percent.

The report also included some remedies. It suggested the state either raise its minimum wage or give employers incentives to pay higher wages. It also encouraged ongoing funding for the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund, more accessible farmer's markets, and agriculture programs and steps to ensure access to prevention- oriented health care.

E-mail: dhinckley@desnews.com

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