Ending a policy of poverty creation

Personal Care Aides provide crucial services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities on a daily basis, including transportation, employment assistance, health needs, and other supports that allow their clients to lead self-directed lives.

They are among our most vulnerable citizens and we must do better by them.

The Personal Care Aides (and other Direct Support Professionals, including child care and drug and alcohol staff), we mean.

These care workers, employed or contracted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, earn an average of $10.65 an hour ($22k annual salary), which squarely places them in poverty, according to this report . This means that they, and their children, rely on government entitlements such as Medicaid, CHIP, and SNAP, which are constantly under attack. In addition, these workers are often under attack for depending on these entitlements by those who are oblivious to what causes their poverty in the first place. 

It’s an appalling scheme of which we, as taxpayers, are complicit.

This week, we saw Philadelphia City Council make their own course correction with new minimum wage legislation that will see city workers and those employed by city contractors paid at least $15/h, a bill imitated by Mayor Kenney.

As a longtime proponent of a living wage, Mayor Kenney, along with City Council, has backed a systemic solution to fighting poverty, putting their money (our tax dollars, of course) where their mouths are, leading businesses that have been wary of wage hikes by example.

It’s unconscionable that the Commonwealth’s Personal Care Aides find their own families in poverty due to exploitive government wages and we hope to see the state following Philadelphia’s lead and raising the minimum wage for government-related workers and alleviate their dependence on programs such as Medicaid and SNAP.

If this sounds like we’re advocating that the state move money from one column (entitlements) to another (wages), you’re correct. But not only is there a likely net savings to taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of millions, even the most cynical would agree it’s better for people who can work to earn money rather than be dependent on the government dole.

This week also saw City Council finally pass their Fair Workweek legislation granting stability and predictability to thousands of parents who work in the city’s service sector who struggled with unpredictable schedules and last-minute changes. This translated into wildly unpredictable incomes and an inability to plan ahead for simple things, such as doctor appointments and parent-teacher conferences.

As an added benefit, the legislation levels the playing field for responsible businesses who already recognized the merits of predictable scheduling for their employees.