One Opinion on Poverty and Health Care in Wisconsin

By Benjamin Artz

As you gear up for the presidential race next year, prepare to hear all sorts of solutions to health care and poverty from both sides of the aisle.  Most if not all of this will of course be hot air, but the country will nevertheless be captivated by the brilliant ideas of the politicians.  For those of us who live in Wisconsin, don’t be enthralled by these seemingly great ideas.  After all, in poverty and health care at least, we’re doing better than the rest of the country.

In August, the US Census Bureau published its Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 report.  According to the report, Wisconsin scores better than the nation in both poverty and health care coverage.  The three year average from 2004 – 2006 of those people without health care coverage is about 15% for the country, but less than 10% in Wisconsin.  In fact, only three states had lower percentages than Wisconsin: Iowa, Hawaii and Minnesota.  Should this be cause for concern?  Maybe it is, but I would argue that it certainly does not warrant a state of panic and a very expensive government-sponsored universal health care plan. 

Wisconsin also performed well in the poverty category.  The two year national average poverty rate from 2005 – 2006 was 12.5% but Wisconsin’s was only 10.2%.  Of course, the idea of about 10% of Wisconsin’s population being in poverty is rather appalling.  What people generally don’t understand is that the poverty rate is calculated using before tax gross income.  This means that the poverty measures don’t include the earned-income tax credit, often hailed as an effective anti-poverty tool.  This tax credit gives cash to those who work hard in low-income occupations and so would not be considered in poverty measures.  Furthermore, after such luxurious non-monetary government handouts such as housing allowances, health care and food stamps, I doubt 10% of the Wisconsin population is still struggling to make it.  In addition, the 2005 – 2006 two year average poverty rate in Wisconsin is a full 1.1% less than the 2004 – 2005 average poverty rate.  So in general, poverty in Wisconsin may not be as big a crisis as some may think.  In fact, it seems to be getting better.

This presidential race will no doubt be one of the most interesting contests in United States history.  The candidates themselves are so diverse that their platforms seem to take a backseat to their personalities and demographic characteristics.  In that respect, when you hear these figureheads spouting depressing numbers about national poverty and health care coverage, understand that Wisconsin is actually not that bad.  We should not fall prey to the politicians feigned panic.  This is one situation where we can be proud of where our state ranks relative to the rest of the country.              

-September 10, 2007

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