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Meeting Basic Needs

In Brief

Every day in Washington, people with lower incomes sit down to the kitchen table to figure out how they are going to make it to the end of the month – or even just this week. For many, their income comes up short of the essentials – food, housing, clothing, health care, child care, transportation. Some have no kitchen table, much less the house to put it in.

It is not surprising that they struggle. Three out of four jobs in Washington state don’t pay enough to support a family. Over half a million people don’t have access to health care, and the ranks of the uninsured are rising. Those earning under $20,000 a year are paying up to 17% of what they earn in state and local taxes. Financially staying afloat against odds like these takes more than hard work – it takes support from the community.

Yet, income supports are inadequate and few people are eligible for human services programs. Since 2001, the Washington Legislature has cut over $1 billion from health care and human services, and these policy changes have had damaging consequences.