A threat to all of us.
I am a pragmatic liberal. I embrace liberal perspectives because they serve the entire nation, and so that means they serve me personally. I want all people to live comfortably, because when they do, they’re happy and not a threat to me, my family or my property.
One of the greatest threats in our society is poverty. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that about 11%, or 38 million Americans, live at the official poverty level, defined as earning $30,000 or less per year for a family of four. But an additional 20% or so earn less than $50,000 per year. So, of the 134 million households in the U.S, 42 million households –100 million people — earn less than $50,000 per year.
If you live in a household with $50,000 annual income, you may not be considered impoverished, but you’re not living large — in fact, you’re probably not living well at all. Consider that an annual salary of $50,000 breaks down to about $4,200 per month, and then consider what it costs to get out of bed nowadays. Married couples with kids spend on average about $7,300 per month on taxes, homes, and daily living expenses. While those in the bottom income tiers have less expenses, an income of $4200 per month leaves almost nothing for unforeseen events.. Forget about saving for the future, they’re living paycheck to paycheck.
How do people end up in this predicament? There are those who believe that, if you’re not successful, it’s your own fault. But the truth is very few – rich or poor — can succeed on their own. According to the Forbes ranking of the 400 richest Americans, 49.5% inherited their wealth – hardly bootstrap stuff.
Yet when pundits talk about why poor people are in that predicament, they talk about lack of conviction, persistence, ambition, discipline, poor self-esteem, limited education, inability to control their spending, and so on. In other words, its about their personal weaknesses and not where they come from.
But social scientists have a different take. Most born in poverty don’t have any of the advantages of the “self-made”. They remain in or near poverty throughout their lives, precisely because the environmental factors that put them there are beyond their control and don’t go away.
To wit, low-income people don’t have access to quality education, often attending underfunded schools. And even those who complete college often face insurmountable student debt, making it impossible to accumulate money. Living in poverty also means dealing with chronic stress due to day-to-day struggles just to survive. They also lack access to networks and social connections that open doors — what every successful person relies on for their path upwards.
There’s also one innate trait that holds people back – intelligence. Years of research shows that a high IQ is associated with benefits linked to success — creativity, performance in school, health, well-paying jobs, social mobility, and even life expectancy. In fact, the intelligence of a population is a key determinant of a country’s economic growth.
That doesn’t mean that a high IQ is a guarantee of success. Other traits are required – ambition, perseverance, creativity, problem solving, and strong communication skills among others. Be that as it may, still IQ is the single most important predictor of work success and earning money.
Low IQ, on the other hand, is pretty much a predictor of failure. With an average IQ for the total population at 100, half of all Americans — about 170 million have below average IQ scores, and so have limited economic growth potential.
According to the APA (American Psychological Association), a person with an IQ score of 70 or below is considered to have an intellectual disability. Those with mild cognitive disability, let’s say an IQ of 90 or so, typically have about 3rd -6th grade skill levels in reading, writing, and math. They can hold a job and live independently, but they can’t compete for the higher paying jobs.
An analysis of IQ by income level shows that the poorest — the 590,000 homeless Americans — have an average IQ of 83. The next 10% of the population averages about 92. In contrast, those in the top income tiers have an average IQ of at least 118. Each point in an IQ score has as much as $616 impact on monthly earning power. All other things being equal, the income difference between a person with an average IQ (100) and someone in the top 2% (130) can be as much as $19000 per year.
But its not just the IQ score that matters — its important to keep in mind who they are competing against. If you have a below or even average IQ, it will be difficult, again all other things being equal, to get a high paying career when you’re going against someone with a 120 IQ.
This is not to say one can’t break out of the cycle of poverty, but most can’t do it on their own – they need help from their fellow citizens. That’s why the Federal government has programs that remove the barriers to upward mobility — health care and nutrition, vocational training, after-school activities, subsidized college and trade school programs, fair hiring practices, and affordable childcare. And that’s also why there is such a big push to raise the minimum wage, trying to give these folks a fighting chance.
These assistance programs have actually helped to raise IQ scores globally. That being the case, it’s possible to improve one’s IQ to some degree, but a person with an IQ of 90 has no chance of getting to 120, and so can’t compete in the high end job market. And the environmental factors (beyond IQ) that contribute to their situation don’t go away. Still, any boost in their cognitive skills through better education is in all of our best interests — as I mentioned, education improves not only individual outcomes but also national economies.
Poverty is not just a problem for the impoverished. It has the potential to be a catastrophic problem for all of us, and that’s where my pragmatic liberalism kicks in. Its important to keep programs that help these people live better lives. The fear is that sooner or later those at the low end of the spectrum are going to realize that their problems are not about liberal or conservative points of view, or democrat vs. republican politics, but about greed and the haves vs. the have nots.
If and when that happens, stuff is really going to hit the fan. There are countless examples throughout history where nations have gone through severe economic and social strife, sometimes even destruction of the system, because a large proportion of its population felt abandoned by their government and their fellow citizens.
If you think that such a think can’t happen here, you’re wrong.
