The Reality of Subsidies
For one single-parent family, the Care 4 Kids child care subsidy means the difference between having an annual surplus of $3,500 with the subsidy versus an annual debt over $4,000 without it.
This report showcases the “high cost of being poor” reality of the 2003 KIDS COUNT Data Book essay by presenting the everyday budget struggles of low-income working families of Hartford, Connecticut. Using local data, the report makes a case for public benefits and supports to help mitigate the impact of higher health care, transportation and child care costs on inner city working families.
Low-income families not only face higher costs by going to work, but also higher costs simply by living in a poor community. Small-scale local businesses cannot take advantage of the economies of scale that enable larger, mainstream businesses to offer more products at lower prices.