A new study says many families can’t afford basic necessities, recession or not.

The study, released by the National Center for Children in Poverty, says even at two and three times the federal minimum wage ($6.55 an hour), full-time working parents are routinely unable to pay for basic necessities.

“Millions of American families scrape by on much less than what it takes to cover basic needs,” said Kinsey Alden Dinan, the senior policy associate who wrote the report.

The study classified basic expenses as rent and utilities, food, child care, health care, transportation and taxes. No money is set aside for families to plan for the future and save for a home, retirement or education. Costs of debt payments or a financial cushion also aren’t included in the study’s basic expense list.

The problem of providing for a family is exacerbated further in high-cost cities such as San Francisco, where a family of four would require both parents to earn $14 an hour to provide the basic necessities for their children. This wage, $14 an hour, is roughly three times the state’s minimum wage.

With many people bringing home wages much lower than these baselines, parents often have to make cuts in important areas, such as quality child care and housing.

“These are choices no family should have to make,” Dinan said. “But sadly, it’s the reality for more and more Americans.”

Local organizations understand the troubles families are going through. Myla Dutton, executive director of Community Action Services and Food Bank, said her organization is serving many new families who never thought they would be in a situation requiring the help of a food bank.

Dutton also said people who have jobs but don’t make sufficient money to get them through each month make up about 60 percent of the patrons of Dutton’s organization.

“They’re hard working and they’re trying hard, but these are challenging times,” Dutton said. “There’s not another part-time job to go out and get any more.”

In an effort to provide more high-paying jobs, the Obama administration has set aside $28 billion on highway construction projects in The American Reinvestment and Recovery act. Workers in the highway industry have a typical hourly wage of $18.31, over $3 above the economy-wide median wage.

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Copyright Brigham Young University 10 Mar 2009