WASHINGTON — Arizona had the second-highest income inequality in the nation between 2008 and 2010, trailing only New Mexico for the gap between its richest and poorest residents, a new report says.
The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute said that for every dollar earned, on average, by the poorest 20 percent of the state’s population in the two-year period, the top 20 percent was earning $9.80.
It also said the gap has widened steadily over the decades. In Arizona, top earners made $5.20 for every $1 of low-income earners’ wages in 1977-1979, but it had grown to a ratio of $8.60 to $1 by 2007-2009. That was slightly faster growth than the nation as a whole, which went from 5.2 to 1 to 8.3 to 1.
“It shows inequality in Arizona is growing at a greater rate than the national average,” said David Cooper, an author of the report.
One Arizona advocate for the poor called the numbers “miserable,” and proof that the state needs to do more to help those struggling with poverty so they can get themselves out.
But Tom Rex, associate director of the Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research at Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business, questioned the reliability of the Arizona numbers. While the report’s methods are “solid,” Rex said the state’s small sample size makes its ranking unreliable.
“Accuracy is questionable for Arizona,” he said. “The margin of error is so large, these results may not be realistic.”
On a national level, however, Rex believes the report accurately reflects the nation’s increase in income inequality since the 1970s.
“The topic of income inequality is certainly important, and it doesn’t get as much attention as it should,” Rex said.
“If you have a large segment of the population that’s not doing well but see others doing well, it will cause resentment,” he said.
But David Azerrad of the Heritage Foundation said studies like “Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends” only encourage resentment toward the rich. He called it deeply problematic to compare rich and poor side by side.
“It’s not about how the income of the rich has been growing quickly,” Azerrad said. “It’s about the declining income of the poor – that should be investigated.”
“If rich are prospering, good for them,” said Azerrad, who has co-authored a report challenging the importance of income inequality. He believes it would be better to focus on why the poor fare so badly and what the obstacles are to upward mobility.
Karen McLaughlin was quick to point out one obstacle: A lack of childcare support that could help low-income families get out of poverty.
Arizona froze childcare support for working parents in February 2009, and the waiting list for help had grown to 11,003 children a year later, according to a report from the state’s Department of Economic Security.
“There is no help for parents at all,” said McLaughlin, director of budget and research at the Children’s Action Alliance. “We get calls from parents all the time who seek help.”
Cynthia Zwick, who called the report’s numbers “miserable,” said safety nets for the poor continue to be eroded.
“They continue to sink into this well of poverty,” said Zwick, the executive director at the Arizona Community Action Association.
She said the annual cost of childcare can range from $7,000 to $10,000, impossible amounts on a “woefully low” minimum-wage income. The minimum wage in Arizona is currently $7.65 per hour.
“You cannot live on that,” Zwick said. “It’s not self-sustaining.”
She said people are not choosing to stay poor, but need help from the state to get back on their feet.
“We have to invest in tax-credit programs based on income,” Zwick said.
The report said wages at the bottom and middle of the wage scale have been either stagnant or have fallen over the last three decades, which McLaughlin and Zwick link to low education and service-driven industries.
“The cycle perpetuates,” McLaughlin said. “There’s poverty, which is an indicator for poor education, which means no or low paying jobs.”
Leon Ceniceros posted at 5:12 pm on Sun, Nov 18, 2012.
CORRECTION......COMMIE/MARXIST/SOCIALIST...."wealth re-distribution".....
Leon Ceniceros posted at 5:09 pm on Sun, Nov 18, 2012.
Oh my Gawd.....another ...Commie/Marxist/Socialist...."wealth distribution" article from the ASU (here's where all your hard earned Arizona Tax Dollars go, Folks) Cronkite School of Journalism. Looking at your graph....the difference between the States is....."INFINTESIMAL".
People that make a good living do so because the studied hard all their life, work 50-60-70 hours a week, forego Vacations and Holidays..........AND THEY SHOULD WHAT EXACTLY..........FEEL GUILTY FOR ACHIEVING A COMFORTABLE LIFESTYLE .....OR AS THE REPORTER APPARENTLY WANTS.....THE HARD WORKERS TO SPLIT THEIR HARD-EARNED SALARIES TO GIVE TO THE HARDLY WORKING OR HARDLY IF EVER WORKING OR THE WELFARE/FOOD STAMP/SECTION-8/HUD SCAM ARTISTS...........SOME ONE TELL THE REPORTER THAT SHE DOESN'T LIVE IN A 3RD WORLD COMMIE COUNTRY...THAT SHE LIVES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A CAPITALIST COUNTRY.......WHERE HARD WORK AND PERSEVERNCE HAS IT'S JUST REWARDS..........THEY HAVE GOTTEN A GOOD LIFESTYLE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY.............THEY EARNED IT.
loose stool posted at 6:10 am on Sun, Nov 18, 2012.
We have alot of uneducated people in this state, add in all the mexicans that compete with the uneducated for the low paying jobs and this is what you get. Not to worry, obama will take from the rich ( working people) and give to the lazy uneducated democrat voter.
DrJCA1 posted at 4:53 pm on Sat, Nov 17, 2012.
The same mentality that says "no one chooses to be poor" is the same mentality that states, "no one chooses to be a drug addict, an alcoholic, an obese person, a compuslive gambler, a child abuser, or any other position in life". since this paper doesn't allow foul language, I'll jsut say male cow excretement. For most of the things that come our way in life, we sure as heck DO choose the path we are on.
As part of my medical career, I spent many years doing community health in 3 different cities and their suburbs during the past 40 years. Many of the poor decided they didn't like it and worked their butts off to change that position. Just as many simply sat on their tush and demanded the government take care of them. Those traits are passed onto the kids who continue the same pattern for the most part. Many poor people seem to have enough money for beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets - just ask anyone who works in the convenience industry.
the ticket out of poverty is NOT handouts, but an ethic that says I'm going to change this. With all the free money for higher education over the past half century, there's no reason many people don't have the skills needed to get a decent job. I grew up in the slums of Brooklyn. A mostly Jewsih neighborhood and everyone of us was as poor as a schul mouse. We all did OK and most of us went on to become a professional or an enterpreneur. We had family involvement and god help us if we went to school and caused trouble. We also had trophies for academics in our hallways at school. Now you only mean anything if you can throw a ball around.
What I'm trying to say with this rant is that poverty is a state of affairs that can be changed if you really want to. It does take work and time however. There are no magic bullits.
downtownresident posted at 4:13 pm on Sat, Nov 17, 2012.
Arizona's new state motto, "Let em eat cake".
The gap would have been even wider if Mitt had gotten elected.
cnemo42 posted at 11:32 am on Sat, Nov 17, 2012.
I would have never guessed that there are poor people in Arizona, the "right to work" state that John Rhodes loved so much. Wow, poor people working for less than the minimum wage and not having golf club privileges. WOW. Shocking. Must be those dam brown people. Close the gates, don't let anyone else into our little slice(golf pun) of heaven.
Deddzone posted at 11:27 am on Sat, Nov 17, 2012.
Well, it might have something to do with the poor education in Arizona and Walmart being the largest employer. Walmart was in the news about horribly low wages.
Arizona is slowly pulling it's head from it's rear---though I suspect it will take years to recover. Education and decent jobs will fix it up!
chatmandu002 posted at 10:31 am on Sat, Nov 17, 2012.
More liberal/progressives trying to get more people on government dependency programs and keep their liberal/progressive socialist voting block intact. Nothing about personal responsibility to succeed or get ahead, just more government dole.