On poverty’s edge

A minor toothache turned into a huge headache for Angee Friedrich. The 28-year-old volunteer coordinator for a Spokane nonprofit organization had no dental insurance but found a dentist willing to treat the infected tooth – provided Friedrich cover the expenses. When an allergic reaction to an antibiotic led to a brief hospital stay, Friedrich’s bill suddenly topped $1,500.

“I don’t even know how much I owe the hospital,” said Friedrich, who supports her three children on a job that pays less than $10 an hour. “I try not to open those envelopes until I can deal with them.”

Her case illustrates the precarious conditions facing Washington and Idaho workers who earn less than a “living wage” – the amount needed to meet basic needs and deal with emergencies, according to regional poverty experts.

A study released Thursday found that one-third of all job openings in the Northwest pay less than a living wage. Based on the region’s cost of living, a living wage in the Inland Northwest is just under $9.50 an hour for a single adult with no children, according to the study from the Northwest Federation of Community Organizations, a regional network of state groups that advocate for the poor.

The study found that demand for living-wage jobs has outpaced supply and that for each such job opening as many as 21 people may apply, depending on the state.

“The gap between the jobs that pay a minimum wage and the number of people seeking those jobs is huge,” said Will Pittz, one of the study’s authors. “You have people making tough decisions, people who are choosing between health insurance and putting food on the table.”

Minimum-wage workers in Idaho earn $10,172 a year – about $5,000 below the federal poverty level for a family of three. Washington’s minimum wage is about $2 an hour higher than Idaho’s wage but still below the federal poverty line.

Pittz said the percentage of job openings that fail to pay a living wage increased 8 percent since last year. That reflects the fact that the region’s living wage has risen, including a 70-cent increase in Washington state since the 2004 study.

“It’s just kind of inching up each year,” said Julie Watts, acting director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization. “The most compelling things are the reports from people across the state about the lack of living-wage jobs.”

Pittz said the study, which was based on figures from 2004, did not take into account this year’s dramatic increase in gas prices, which lead to higher home heating bills.

The rising cost of health care has been a primary driver of the increase in the living wage, Pittz said. From 2000 to 2003, the number of uninsured Americans – those who did not buy private insurance and were not covered by Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for low-income families – rose by 5.1 million.

Idaho had the region’s highest percentage of uninsured people. More than 1 in 5 residents lack health insurance, according to the study.

Workers who earn low wages are more likely to be uninsured, according to the study. Of those workers earning less than $10 an hour, one-third lacked health insurance.

The study also stated that minorities are more likely to be uninsured. One-third of Latinos are uninsured, and 20.8 percent of African Americans lack insurance.

From 1996 to 2002, the median cost of a private health insurance policy increased 47 percent, according to the study.

“Private health care is way out of reach for most families,” Pittz said. “They are one health emergency from financial catastrophe.”

Friedrich, the volunteer coordinator, said her deductible increased this year. At the same time her employer decreased the percentage that it pays toward her insurance.

With her outstanding medical debts, Friedrich said her bills total about $300 a month more than she makes. Friedrich, who stopped using methamphetamine six years ago, has struggled to stay afloat.

“It’s a balancing act,” Friedrich said. “What gets paid this month might not get paid next month.”

Her hope, she said, is that “not all those bills will last forever.”