[Excerpt from front page Hartford Courant article by Alison Cross, December 3, 2024]
As many as 40% of adults in the state are struggling to make ends meet, according to a new DataHaven survey that reveals record-high rates of food, housing and financial insecurity among Connecticut residents.
The 2024 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey found that two out of five adults in the state say they are "just getting by" or "finding it difficult" to manage financially. Approximately 18% of residents reported that over the last year, there were times when they did not have enough money to buy food for themselves or their families, while 12% said they could not provide adequate shelter or housing.
The findings mark a noticeable increase from 2022 - and represent the highest rates of economic struggle since DataHaven started the statewide survey nearly a decade ago. The share of adults reporting housing insecurity has doubled since 2015, according to past studies. Over the same period, food and financial insecurity in the state have increased by 25% and 50% respectively.
"The financial strain faced by so many Connecticut residents is a major concern, especially given the rising costs of housing, healthcare, and everyday essentials," DataHaven Executive Director Mark Abraham said in the 2024 report. "These trends highlight the urgent need for policy solutions that provide long-term economic stability for our communities."
The results mirror a recently released ALICE report from the United Way of Connecticut, which determined that 39% of households in the state could not "afford the basic cost of living in their county" in 2022.
Both the ALICE and DataHaven reports highlighted how financial challenges in Connecticut have continued an upward trend after families saw fleeting improvements in 2021 as a result of federal pandemic relief programs, including a one-time expansion of the Child Tax Credit.
Abraham explained that the extra cash caused food insecurity rates to "drop," in an interview with the Courant.
"During the year that people were receiving the expanded benefits, they were much more likely to be able to afford food and save for other things or pay for summer camps or things like that," Abraham said. "When those benefits expired, a large number of people in Connecticut were pretty affected."
The loss of government aid at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic hit families hard - at the same time that household expenses increased, the ALICE report found that the average "family of four with an infant and a preschooler in Connecticut" lost $15,000 in "maximum federal tax credits and stimulus payments" between 2021 and 2022.
Abraham stressed that financial challenges are not felt equally across the state.
According to the DataHaven report, more than 50% of "Black and Latino communities report feeling financially insecure." Additionally, DataHaven said food insecurity impacts one out of every three adults in Connecticut cities.
"Food insecurity rates remain higher in cities and among Black and Latino populations. Recent immigrants from Puerto Rico, persons with disabilities, formerly incarcerated adults, and LGBTQ+ individuals report some of the highest levels of food insecurity, approaching 40 percent," the report stated. "There is also a pronounced gender gap, with women reporting higher rates of financial and food insecurity compared to men."
In the report, DataHaven advocated for "policy interventions and community-driven solutions to address rising rates of financial, food, and housing insecurity" as well as the "urgent need for targeted interventions in areas of concentrated poverty."
Abraham highlighted universal free school meals and initiatives that increase access to housing and transportation as "the biggest pieces of the puzzle."
"I think it's important to look at the issue holistically and think about how to make the state more affordable, basically for the middle class," Abraham said.
Abraham said that failing to address high costs for workers and families will "have a negative impact on employers and then ultimately on the state as a whole."
In a statement that criticized Democratic policies and pushed for tax breaks, Republicans in the Connecticut State Senate said the survey "must serve as a wake-up call to all state Democrat elected officials."
[....]
Senate Republicans called out Democrats who "refused to go into special session to take swift action on lowering energy costs" and "eliminate onerous taxes like the truck tax which increase our grocery bills." They also criticized Democrats who "rejected the Senate Republican plan to retroactively reduce the state income tax for the middle-class" and "said no" to a Republican proposal that would establish a "$2,000 per child tax deduction" and "nearly double access to the $300 property tax credit."
"As this survey clearly reveals, Connecticut is trending in the wrong direction," the Republican Caucus said.
[....]
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney challenged Republican sentiments in a statement to the Courant Monday, identifying the expiration of federal pandemic aid "as the primary driver for these increased costs."
Looney encouraged Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration to invest "the state and federal funds necessary to improve the economic security of all residents in Connecticut," adding that Democrats plan to "deliver real relief" for Connecticut residents, "with or without" the support of their GOP colleagues.
"From increasing the minimum wage to creating the most successful paid family and medical leave program in the country to passing the largest income tax cut in state history, Democrats are focused on delivering for low and middle-income families," Looney said.
Link:
https://www.courant.com/2024/12/03/report-40-of-connecticut-is-struggling-to-make-ends-meet/
