Even in an economy faring better than most other states, many Oklahoma families struggle to meet their basic needs from day to day and month to month. For hundreds of thousands of these Oklahomans, the public safety net makes all of the difference.
That safety net is even more effective than previously thought in reducing poverty, a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals. Nationally, the safety net reduced the poverty rate to 13.8 percent from 29.1 percent in 2012. It lifted 48 million people above the poverty line, including 12 million children. In Oklahoma, public benefits lift 620,000 people above the poverty line and reduce the poverty rate from more than one in four (27.3 percent) to one in 10 (10.5 percent).
To more accurately determine the true poverty rate than was possible in the past, the report uses a newly developed measure. It counts such government assistance as food and rental support as income, then subtracts from income various taxes paid, work expenses and out-of-pocket medical expenditures. It also adjusts for underreporting in census data from key forms of government assistance.
While there is a broad array of public support that can boost family well-being, three programs have the strongest impact in lifting people out of poverty. These are Social Security; low-income tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
The SNAP program, which provides a monthly allowance to low-income families to purchase eligible food, plays an especially crucial role in boosting family economic security. Last year, nearly 900,000 Oklahomans – more than one in five – received SNAP support at some point in the year. Thanks to SNAP, the poverty rate was reduced to 10.5 percent for all Oklahomans from 14.3 and to 10.2 percent for children from 17.7, the report shows.
There can certainly be a fair debate about how to make public support more effective. But as some in Congress continue their attacks on SNAP and other key forms of assistance, this report provides a healthy reminder that the safety net is doing what it’s intended to do: reducing poverty and enhancing economic security so that more Americans can build a strong future for their families.
David Blatt is executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, http://okpolicy.org.