The Price of Poverty: How Inflation Hurts America's Low Paid Workers
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 October 2022
⏱️ 32 minutes
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Summary
Wages haven't kept up with inflation. But low-income workers have seen some of the largest percent increases in pay since the pandemic.
But how long will those reported gains last? How do we fix a system that asks millions to work hard, but doesn't earn them enough to live on?
We partnered with WFPL in Louisville, Kentucky and talk to small business owners, consumers and workers impacted by inflation.
This conversation is part of our Remaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Find us on Twitter @1A.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, Caitlin from Richmond, Virginia. I was in the Freedom History serving and bartending |
| 0:13.6 | for about seven years. And now I'm in a nine to five this last year and I'm making |
| 0:17.9 | them as money I've ever made. Yet it feels like I am not given the cost increase for food |
| 0:25.0 | and overall living. This is Chris from Austin, Texas. Got three kids. I work about 60 hours |
| 0:33.0 | a week. Unfortunately, it's not enough now to pay our bills. Seems like we are becoming |
| 0:40.8 | an economy where we need at least two jobs just to make it. So I am looking for part-time |
| 0:46.7 | work for about 20, 25 hours a week just so that I can take care of my family. My name is |
| 0:54.1 | Kate Lovely. I'm calling from Oxford, Massachusetts. With inflation, my family is having a very |
| 1:00.4 | hard time, even though we are considered decidedly little class or definitely picking and choosing |
| 1:07.6 | which bills to pay based on, you know, who will give us more time. We have a three-year-old |
| 1:13.7 | son. It definitely feels as though we're being punished for having children in this country. |
| 1:18.9 | Our daycare bill is as much as our mortgage costs. Throughout our price of poverty series, |
| 1:25.2 | we've looked at the effect of poverty on children and seniors. Now we're taking a look at |
| 1:29.8 | inflation, something that's on everybody's mind and its impact on low wage workers. |
| 1:35.8 | Inflation is near a 40-year high in the U.S. and rising costs are making it harder for |
| 1:40.7 | many Americans to get by. According to Moody's Analytics, families are paying almost $450 |
| 1:47.0 | more a month for the same goods and services than they did a year ago. The Federal Reserve |
| 1:51.9 | is trying to curb inflation by raising interest rates to slow down the economy. How does |
| 1:56.6 | it affect American families and small businesses? Especially our lowest paid workers who are |
| 2:01.5 | often already struggling to make ends meet. This show is part of our Remaking America project. |
| 2:07.2 | It's a partnership with six public radio stations, including WFPL and Louisville Kentucky. |
| 2:12.9 | Throughout the series, we explore Americans, trust in institutions, and the health of our |
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