GAs poverty rate relatively unchanged in 4 years

Four years after a national study found nearly one-third third of Georgia's working families living at or below the federal poverty line, newly released data show little has changed. The updated study titled "Still Working Hard, Still Falling Short," was funded in part by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Significant among its findings … thirty percent of working families in Georgia are low-income, putting Georgia in seventeenth place nationwide. Sarah Beth Gehl is Deputy Director of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute. With Georgia experiencing a budget shortfall, Gehl says now is not the time to consider cutting services to the poor. "During an economic time like this, there are going to have to be budget cuts. We understand that. But, for us, we think all options should be on the table, such as raising some revenue, using the rainy day fund. We think those options should be on the table and currently they are not." The report also found that nearly 30 percent of Georgia's jobs pay below the federal poverty level for a family of four. Those states topping the list of low-income working families are New Mexico, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas.