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Because it is right, because it is wise, and because, for the first time in our history, it is possible to conquer poverty, I submit, for the consideration of the Congress and the country, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.”
With those words, President Lyndon B. Johnson ushered in the War on Poverty 38 years ago. Today poverty still exists, and agencies and programs first established by Johnson’s bill limp along with a fraction of the funding they once enjoyed.
Nevertheless, Paul Brindel is optimistic, and he remains committed to seeing Johnson’s legacy come to fruition. Echoing words once spoken by Martin Luther King, Brindel says “I am absolutely confident we can end poverty in the 21st Century—it’s simply a matter of will.” In an effort to explore issues related to ending poverty, Brindel, director of the local Community Action Board’s shelter project, hosts a series on Community Television entitled The War on Poverty in the 21st Century. The show airs Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 3 p.m. on AT&T cable channel 25. The series focuses on poverty issues at the local, state and national level, with a new segment airing every month through the end of the year.
“We’re looking at the various aspects of the War on Poverty—where we have come from, what’s the history of this and where we are now,” Brindel says, “and, looking at moving into the 21st Century, how are we going to approach the War on Poverty.” Poverty Hits HomePoverty isn’t the sexiest issue these days. Terrorism, the Middle East and sleazy priests dominate dinner conversations of late. But a glance around our own community provides evidence that poverty still inflicts suffering on the old, the young, immigrants, the disabled, single-parent households and the working poor.
A recent 2000 Census report released last week reveals that in Santa Cruz County, the War on Poverty lost ground even in a decade of unprecedented prosperity. In 1990, 10.7 county residents lived below the poverty line. In 2000, 11.9 percent of locals lived in poverty. Statewide 14.2 percent of Californians live in poverty.
The poverty line, a nationwide figure established by the federal government, lies at an annual household income of $17,603 for a family of four or $8,794 for an individual.
At 19.1 percent of its residents living below the poverty line, Watsonville has the highest poverty rate in the county; Santa Cruz is second at 16.5 percent. Capitola and Scotts Valley boast the county’s lowest poverty rates, at 7 and 2.5 percent, respectively. However, Scotts Valley carries the widest income gap between male and female workers.
Community advocates say many more people are likely living in poverty than the numbers reflect. The rate is not adjusted for an area’s cost of living and, considering the outrageous cost of housing in Santa Cruz County, the Census figures are probably conservative. “The official poverty rates that people talk about are artificially low,” Brindel says.
Poverty, Brindel says, is more than a number dreamed up by politicians. “You can live poor and live a rich life,” he says. “But when you’re living in poverty, you’re desperate. The difference between poor and poverty is when you’re living in poverty, you can’t get health care. In poverty, you can’t afford a place to live. In poverty, you’re children go to bed hungry.”
Moreover, “Given the fact that the economic boom of the late 1990s was still in place at the time the Census was done, the poverty rate is likely to be higher now,” says Christine Johnson-Lyons, executive director of the Community Action Board.
The local Census figures, she says, are indicative of the persistence of low-wage employment and high housing costs. “We used to say that the United States was moving towards becoming a Third World country in terms of income inequality, and now we’re there,” she says. Shredding the Safety NetAnd federal and state budget cuts in social services threaten to perpetuate poverty. Governor Gray Davis’ May revise of the state budget proposes drastic cuts in social and human services, including health care coverage and youth programs. “This could be the most fanatical reduction in health and human services in decades,” Brindel says.
“It’s foolish and short-sighted thinking to suggest that we should solve the state’s fiscal problems by further shredding the safety net,” Johnson-Lyons says. “At-risk youth translates into an at-risk society; people without medical care is a synonym for a community in crisis.”
She hopes the TV show will educate locals about poverty issues in their own backyard and compel them to take action. “People assume, because of the community in the northern part of Santa Cruz County, that there isn’t much poverty here. It’s like homelessness—the largest population of homeless are families with children that live in their cars [and we don’t see them]. There’s a certain invisibility to poverty in many parts of the community. People are really struggling to make ends meet and don’t want to be identified as being poor, and their trying to do the best they can and make ends meet and improve their situation.”
Brindel hopes to reinvigorate Lyndon Johnson’s and Martin Luther King’s vision in a new century as well as address the “cynicism that pervades the discussion,” Brindel says, even if he is preaching to the choir just a bit. “This is a very compassionate community. I’ve seen that this is a community that can consistently vote progressively, that sent people to Congress and state Assembly that have been struggling for human dignity and a basic standard of living.”
The War on Poverty in the 21st Century airs Mondays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and Fridays at 3 p.m. on AT&T cable channel 25. 2002 program topics: May: Income Equity and Living Wage June: Health and Human Services—The Safety Net July: Health August: Homelessness September: Housing October: Welfare Reform November: Working December: Hunger January: The Census
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